Bartholomew's Notes

WND, June 5 2006:

In the “Dunces of Doomsday,” [Paul L. Williams] writes, “At McMaster University, where the al-Qaida agents registered under fictitious names, wanted terrorist Adnan el-Shukrijumah and friends wasted no time in gaining access to the nuclear reactor and stealing more than 180 pounds of nuclear material for the creation of radiological bombs.”

…”When you hear of a nuclear spillage (missing radioactive material) … the last one – the only one – I’ve heard of was Chernobyl. That’s huge. They cannot deny it,” Williams says.

WND, January 5 2007 (as noted by ConWebWatch):

In a media release dated June 8, 2006, regarding The Dunces of Doomsday, WND Books/Cumberland House Publishing made statements, including a statement contained in The Dunces of Doomsday, referring to the theft of 180 pounds of nuclear material at McMaster University, the infiltration of McMaster University by terrorists, and consequent risk to the public.

Those statements were without basis in fact. WND Books/Cumberland House Publishing unreservedly retract the statements in the June 8, 2006 media release and apologize to McMaster University.

The original report adds:

Canadian police last Friday arrested 17 suspected Islamic terrorists, mostly in Toronto, who were allegedly planning to unleash a string of attacks in Ontario in retaliation for the country’s support of the U.S. in the War on Terror.

…”When I spoke to the Ontario police, they were investigating some of the students, and I was investigating the faculty,” [Williams] said. “You have a virulent nest of al-Qaida operatives who have been there since 1996. Several of those operatives from Toronto were mentioned in a BOLO (Be on the Lookout) report issued in 2004. In the Division of Earthquake Engineering (at McMaster University), there are 16 professors; 15 of them are from Cairo, and they all have their advanced degrees from McMaster. We’ve discovered that some of these professors have ties to Islamic Jihad in Egypt. You’re seeing the first wave of arrests.”

The 17 suspects were arrested with the help of a Muslim informant opposed to terrorism; Williams does not appear to have been involved.

A Toronto Sun column by Joe Warmington in June gives further details of the supposed university plot:

Remember the headline. AL-QAIDA SOUGHT DIRTY BOMB MATERIAL IN HAMILTON in many papers across the continent on Oct. 17, 2003.

It was a Canadian Press story quoting the Washington Times, which reported “a key al-Qaida terrorism suspect was looking for nuclear material for a ‘dirty bomb’ at McMaster University.”

It said “Adnan El Shukrijumah is being sought by the FBI and CIA in connection with a plot to detonate a dirty bomb — a conventional explosive laced with radioactive material.”

An FBI informant said “El Shukrijumah, 27, was spotted last year in Hamilton posing as a student at McMaster University, which has a five-megawatt research reactor. U.S. officials believe El Shukrijumah, whose photograph was posted on the FBI’s website in March, was in Hamilton trying to obtain radioactive material.”

Warmington also discusses the Williams book, and interviews McMaster media director Andrea Farquhar:

Farquhar calls William’s book “wild accusations” and said if he’d called, he would have learned “we have never lost our licence, never had a security breach and never had anything go missing.”

In fact, she says, the nuclear program has won safety awards.

But what of the supposed sighting of El Shukrijumah at McMaster? The absurd Judi McLeod of the Canada Free Press provided photos to prove the link:

The first three photos above are FBI pictures of Adnan “Jaafaral the Pilot” G. El Shukrijumah, described by Time Magazine as “an accomplished Arab Guyanese bombmaker and commercial pilot”. (Time Magazine, August 23, 2004). The fourth photo on the right is a picture identified in the McMaster University 1998 Engineer and Physics graduating class as graduate Ciro Vitolo.

If Ciro Vitolo is not Osama bin Laden field commander Adnan El Shukrijumah, then it’s his twin.

Williams appears to have concurred:

Now, in addition to the members of the terrorist network arrested last Friday, Williams says, “We believe we found Adnan el-Shukrijimuah in the Toronto area and, if not, we’ve found his double.”

Alas! McLeod was forced to follow-up her report shortly afterwards:

Ciro Vitolo has come forward to say he is not the FBI-hunted Al Qaeda terrorist Adnan “Jafar the Pilot” El Shukrijumah, who is believed to have posed as a student at Hamilton’s McMaster University.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” said Vitolo, who said a friend had emailed him that his McMaster’s graduation photo had been posted on the CFP website alongside three FBI photos of El Shukrjumah, who has a $5 million bounty on his head. “Then I got angry.”

But that doesn’t mean it’s not all true; perhaps El Shukrijumah, realising that he resembled Vitolo, stole his identity to infiltrate the university:

When Vitolo was asked whether someone had possibly assumed his identity during the five years he spent at McMaster University, he responded, “That’s a loaded question.”

Vitolo did say, however that he may have lost some personal effects 10 years ago and said someone had stolen his wallet from his car five years ago.

Williams, meanwhile, is facing a libel action from McMaster. He has set up a legal defence fund website, where he remains bullish:

McMaster has harbored leading al Qaeda operatives, including Adnan el-Shukrijumah, Jaber A. Elbaneh, Abderraouf Jdey, and Amer el-Maati. This finding was a result of the interrogation of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, who was taken into custody in Karachi by ISI officials on March 3, 2003…. When the operatives left McMaster, 180 pounds of nuclear material was reported missing. The story of the missing waste was first reported by John Loftus of WABC News on November 7, 2003. This story also remains on the internet. McMaster has insisted that no material was ever missing from the reactor but radiological material was reported missing from their pharmacological and medical facilities.

…For reporting these findings, Dr. Williams has been sued by McMaster University for $4 million plus punitive damages…The case, fuelled by Islamic contributions, represents the first attempt of an academic institution to limit the research of an academician, despite the fact that such research is vital for our national security. If he loses the case, the American people will be left in the dark and the American Hiroshima may become a reality.

And why else should we support Williams? He links prominently to a semi-anonymous testimonial:

Dr. Williams is such a true man of God. He is so dedicated to educate both Christians and Jews to what he knows is about to hit American soil. Paul’s dedication and passion is endless, his background is vital for the work he does to the defense of America and our people. Unfortunately, the enemy has much more funds that we can ever hope for, and this is why they are gain ground so rapidly. Besides the funds Paul needs all the prayer warriors praying for this situation. No matter how big it seems our God is in control and still answers our prayers. We want to help Paul in any way possible to continue this war on terrorism.

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