Final Words: "There is no God but Allah."
Final Meal: Fried rice, bananas, boiled eggs and wheat bread.
Statement by Governor Warner Regarding the Scheduled Execution of Mir Aimal Kasi:
RICHMOND — Governor
Mark R. Warner today issued the following statement regarding the request
for clemency in the case of Mir Aimal Kasi:“In the morning of January 25, 1993,
several vehicles were waiting at a traffic light on Route 123 near the main
entrance to the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency. Mir Aimal
Kasi, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, emerged from another vehicle stopped
behind those waiting at the traffic light. Mr. Kasi began to walk among
the vehicles, firing into them with his weapon. Within a few seconds, Mr.
Kasi had murdered Frank Darling and Lansing Bennett, and wounded Nicholas
Starr, Calvin Morgan, and Stephen Williams. “After a ten-day trial in November 1997,
a Fairfax County jury found Mr. Kasi guilty of capital murder of Mr. Darling,
murder of Mr. Bennett, malicious woundings of Mr. Starr, Mr. Morgan, and
Mr. Williams, and five charges of using a firearm in commission of the foregoing
felonies. On February 4, 1998, the court sentenced Mr. Kasi to death. “Mr. Kasi has admitted to the crimes
for which he was convicted and shown absolutely no remorse for his actions.
After a thorough review of Mr. Kasi’s petition for clemency and the judicial
opinions regarding this case, I have concluded that the death penalty is
appropriate in this instance. I will not intervene.
JARRATT, Virginia (Reuters) - Mir Aimal Kasi, a Pakistani who killed two CIA employees in 1993 in a rage over American policy in the Middle East, was executed by lethal injection on Thursday, in a case that sparked protests in his homeland and fears of retaliation against U.S. interests. Kasi, 38, was pronounced dead at 9:07 p.m. EST (0207 GMT) at the Greensville Correctional Center in southeast Virginia, said Larry Traylor, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections.
Kasi looked sad as he entered the death chamber, witnesses said. Kasi's spiritual adviser Dr. Miah Muhammed Saeed, president of the Islamic Center in northern Virginia, accompanied him into the death chamber. The two men appeared to be praying quietly but continuously until Kasi's death. His last words were, "There is no God but Allah," said Traylor.
On January 25, 1993, Kasi, also known in Pakistan as Kansi, parked his pickup truck near CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, during the morning rush hour, picked up an AK-47 and began methodically shooting into cars at a stoplight. Two people were killed and three wounded before he got back into his truck and left the scene unhindered. He flew to Pakistan the next day but was arrested in 1997, convicted and sentenced to die.
The U.S. State Department last week issued a warning to Americans abroad. Four Americans were killed in Pakistan after Kasi's 1997 conviction, and threats were made in Pakistan in recent days to harm Americans if Kasi was executed. But Kasi, who was not believed to have had any links with terrorist organizations, let it be known through his lawyers that he "does not want anybody hurt in his name or as a result of his execution." As a precaution, however, the Virginia State Police said heightened security was provided at the prison and at the state capitol in Richmond.
ANGRY AT U.S. TREATMENT OF MUSLIMS
An FBI agent testified that Kasi confessed he wanted to punish the U.S. government for bombing Iraq, for what he saw as its involvement in the killing of Palestinians and because the CIA was too deeply involved in the internal affairs of Muslim countries. Protesters in Pakistan said Kasi's actions were understandable. "Aimal is not a terrorist," tribal elder Ibrahim Kansi told demonstrators. "His action was a reaction to what was happening to Muslims in Chechnya and Palestine." The U.S. Supreme Court turned down Kasi's latest appeal Thursday. And Virginia Gov. Mark Warner denied a clemency request from Kasi's stepmother and the Pakistani embassy.
He was sentenced to die for the killings of CIA employees Frank Darling, 28, and Lansing Bennett, 66. Three other people, two with the CIA and a telephone company employee, were wounded in Kasi's rampage. He fired 11 bullets into five cars. Darling's father-in-law, Richard Becker, whose daughter was in the car when her husband was murdered, issued a statement on behalf of his family. "The justice system of the United States and the State of Virginia performed and have been heard. On Thursday, we will spend time in prayer for Kasi, that God will have mercy on his soul, for his family, that there be no terrorism reprisal, and for world peace," it said. CIA Director George Tenet said in a statement: "Today, our thoughts are with our two colleagues who were murdered on January 25, 1993, as well as the three others who were wounded that day. They and their loved ones will always be part of our agency family. They will remain in our thoughts and prayers long after today."
PROTESTS IN PAKISTAN
About 150 members of Kasi's tribe in Pakistan marched through the streets of Kasi's hometown of Quetta, not far from the border with Afghanistan, chanting "Aimal is our hero." The demonstrators also burned a U.S. flag. Other activists protested in the central town of Multan and called for the sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment. Iqbal Jafree, a Pakistani lawyer who had attempted to assist in the post-trial appeals, said Kasi's family had picked out a grave for Kasi in his hometown of Quetta. Defence witnesses contended Kasi suffered from brain damage and mental illness, and should have received life in prison instead of the death sentence.
Kasi had been living in Reston, Virginia. He flew to Pakistan the day after the shootings and disappeared for four years. Authorities said he spent most of that time in Afghanistan, hiding in and around Kandahar, which later emerged as a stronghold of the militant Taliban movement linked to Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network. The FBI arrested Kasi in his hotel room in central Pakistan on June 15, 1997, and brought him to the United States for trial. Kasi's brother, Naseebullah Khan, told Reuters that Kasi had called home on Thursday. "He asked his mother to have courage," Khan said. "He told her to give his wishes to the motherland and to the people of Pakistan and asked them to pray for him."
Kasi requested a last meal of fried rice, bananas, boiled eggs and wheat bread. He was the 4th person executed in Virginia this year and the 87th executed in Virginia since the death penalty was allowed to resume by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976.
**************************"Family Says Gunman at CIA Loved America." (November 11, 1997)
FAIRFAX, Virginia (CNN) -- A Pakistani man convicted of killing two men in a shooting spree outside CIA headquarters once professed a love for this country, his uncle testified Tuesday. "He always say that 'I like America, I love America and I want to go there,'" Amanullah Kasi said at a sentencing hearing for his nephew, Mir Aimal Kasi.
Kasi was convicted Monday of one count of capital murder in the death of Frank Darling, 28, and one count of first-degree murder in the death of Lansing Bennett, 66. The two men were shot in their cars while waiting in the morning traffic outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, on January 25, 1993. The attack left three other people wounded. Prosecutors -- who claim Kasi was out to avenge the bombing of Iraq and what he though was American meddling in Muslim countries -- are asking for the death penalty.
Kasi's uncle testified that his nephew was not politically active and had no hatred for the United States. And one of Kasi's older brothers, Mir Weis Kasi, said Kasi was an apolitical loner who talked to himself as a teen-ager. Three teachers from his hometown elementary school in Quetta, Pakistan, also testified, describing him as a solemn boy and a poor math student. One teacher, Rahel Ernest Nathaniel, wept as she looked at a class photo of Kasi as a boy. "That's Aimal," she said, using the name Kasi's friends and family use for him. "He was quiet, very shy. Not a talkative child."
Jurors heard Tuesday from the widow of one of the two victims. Judy Becker Darling, 38, said that after her husband's murder, she was unable to live in the house she shared with him, and that she couldn't return to her job at the CIA, where she had worked 13 years. Mrs. Darling was in the car with her husband when he was gunned down, and in tears Tuesday she told the jury she couldn't eat, sleep or function normally for almost two years after he was killed. "I just kept telling (my parents) I could smell blood and death," she said. "I just didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted to be with him."
Jurors already recommended to the judge that Kasi receive maximum sentences: life in prison for the murder of Bennett, 20 years each for three counts of malicious wounding and 18 years for five firearms charges. They also recommended that he be fined $400,000. The jury didn't begin considering the capital murder count in Darling's death until Tuesday because death penalty counts require a separate sentencing hearing.
The defense plans to call medical and psychological experts to testify about Kasi's mental condition as his sentencing hearing continues. The prosecution says it will counter with its own medical experts. Both sides agree the case is likely to go to the jury before the end of this week.
"Kasi Dies for CIA Killings," by Frank Green and Rex Springston. (November 15, 2002) JARRATT - Praying quietly until the end, Mir Aimal Kasi was executed by injection last night for the 1993 slayings of two CIA employees. In his last statement, Kasi said, "There is no God but Allah," according to Larry Traylor, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections. Then, Kasi chanted quietly, Traylor said. He was pronounced dead at 9:07 p.m.
Media witnesses said Kasi prayed with a Muslim spiritual adviser for his last hour. As he lay strapped on the gurney, Kasi gestured with his right hand, witnesses said. "My personal impression was a peace sign" directed at the witnesses, said Guy Taylor, of The Washington Times. "He appeared almost saddened." Another media witness, reporter Chris Gordon of the NBC affiliate in Washington, said he saw something "like a twitch" but wasn't sure it was peace sign. Describing the death, Gordon said, "He appeared to go to sleep."
Though not linked to any extremist organizations, Kasi, 38, a Pakistani national, gave the United States a taste of terrorism years before the events of Sept. 11, 2001. He was sentenced to death for the murders of Frank Darling, 28, and Lansing Bennett, 66. They were killed with an AK-47 assault rifle as they sat in their cars at a stoplight outside CIA headquarters in McLean on Jan. 25, 1993. Three other people, two with the CIA and a telephone company employee, were wounded. Kasi fired a total of 11 bullets into five cars.
An FBI agent testified that Kasi confessed he wanted to punish the U.S. government for bombing Iraq, for what he saw as its involvement in the killing of Palestinians and because the CIA was too deeply involved in the internal affairs of Muslim countries.
The U.S. State Department issued an advisory for Americans abroad last week because of the pending execution. Threats had been made in recent days in Pakistan to harm Americans should Kasi be executed. Four Americans were killed in Pakistan during his 1997 trial. In Kasi's hometown of Quetta, Pakistan, paramilitary troops stood guard as supporters rallied yesterday in protest of the execution, burning an American flag and calling for the United States to stop interfering in their country. However, a reporter from Pakistan who was covering the execution last night said Kasi is not widely perceived as a hero there. "He's not a hero. He's committed a crime," said Azim M. Miam, United Nations bureau chief for the Jang Group of Newspapers.
Miam said there has been a great deal of interest in the case in Pakistan because there has been so much coverage in the American media. "In these days of globalization, CNN, ABC - they are beaming these things over there about Aimal Kasi." More law enforcement vehicles were stationed near the Greensville Correctional Center entrance than usual for an execution, and corrections officers armed with shotguns and rifles stood watch. Kasi's execution also attracted far more media outlets than usual, as measured by the number of vehicles with satellite dishes in the prison's parking lot. In Richmond, state and Capitol Police cruisers, with blue lights flashing, were positioned last night on East Franklin and North Eight and Ninth streets around the building that houses the Virginia Supreme Court and Virginia Court of Appeals. No threats had been received, said Lt. Robert Northern of the Virginia State Police. The extra security was merely precautionary "because of the unique nature of the person being executed."
Outside the prison, about 75 people held a candlelight vigil to protest the execution. They prayed for Kasi and his victims as they gathered in a circle under a nearly full moon on the cool night in the low 50s. "We're here because we don't believe you can end violence with violence," said Judith Shanholtz, a Henrico County resident. The protesters carried signs bearing messages such as "Life is Sacred - Do Not Kill" and "Don't Kill For Me." Ann McBride, 57, a Fairfax County preschool teacher, said she has corresponded with Kasi for the last three years. "He's a great person. That's why I'm very sad," she said. "It's incredibly hard for me to see how people can choose to kill." Shanholtz and McBride acknowledged Kasi was guilty, but they said that didn't justify another killing.
The U.S. Supreme Court turned down Kasi's last appeal and request for a stay of execution yesterday afternoon. Then Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner turned down a clemency request from Kasi's stepmother and the Pakistani Embassy. Warner, in rejecting Kasi's clemency petition, said the death penalty is appropriate in this case. "Mr. Kasi has admitted to the crimes for which he was convicted and shown absolutely no remorse for his actions," the governor said.
Judith Becker-Darling testified at Kasi's trial that she and her husband, Frank Darling, were driving to work, "And all of a sudden, I heard glass smash behind me. My husband looked in the rear view mirror and said right away, 'My God, I've been shot. Get down!'" Becker-Darling said she ducked beneath the dashboard as her husband struggled to maneuver their Volkswagen Jetta out of harm's way. She continued to hear what sounded liked balloons popping. "I picked my head up and I was looking down the barrel of a gun . . . my husband said again, 'Get down.'" She obeyed and heard more shots. "When I picked my head up, Frank was shot in the head."
Kasi's real name is Aimal Khan Kasi, but he was charged and convicted as Mir Aimal Kasi. He was the fourth person executed in Virginia this year and the 87th since the death penalty was allowed to resume by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976.
Washington Times (November 12, 2002)
QUETTA, Pakistan — Two Middle East politicians have asked the United States to spare the life of convicted killer Aimal Kasi, saying such an act would help win the war on terrorism, a Pakistani newspaper reported Monday.
Mr. Kasi, 38, born in the dusty border town of Quetta, is scheduled to be executed Thursday by lethal injection in Virginia for gunning down two CIA employees as they sat in their cars outside agency headquarters. Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner said yesterday he had received a clemency petition from Mr. Kasi, but will not comment on the case until court appeals are exhausted.
In Kasi's hometown, newspapers have published appeals for clemency and have asked the city's more than 1 million residents to "pray for Aimal Kasi that God save his life from execution." His family, friends and 1,000 Muslim clerics have also issued appeals. Two prominent local politicians, according to the newspaper story, said putting Kasi to death won't help the United States' relationship with Pakistan, a key ally in the fight against Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. "By forgiving one person the U.S. can win the hearts of millions of people in its war against terrorism," the Baluchistan Times quoted Sarwar Khan Kakar and Noor Jehan Panezai as saying in a joint statement. Mr. Kakar is secretary-general of the state branch of the party that supports Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the Quaid-e-Azam faction of the Pakistan Muslim League.
The International Herald Tribune
"A Muslim Gets Even With the CIA," by Patricia Davis and Maria Glod. (Washington Post 11-15-02) FBI Special Agent Brad Garrett was not sure the man on the bed in the seedy hotel room in Pakistan really was Mir Aimal Kasi. He had a beard and was heavier than the gunman who had opened fire just outside CIA headquarters, killing two agency employees and wounding three other people.
"Turn him over," Garrett told the other agents, their guns drawn, as he straddled the man in the $3-a-night room at the Shalimar Hotel in Dera Ghazi Kahn. Garrett then took the man's left thumb and pressed it onto an ink pad. .Garrett had brought a photograph of Kasi's fingerprints in a bag. In the middle of the night, in that desolate, dusty town bordering Afghanistan, in 1997, the agent pulled out a magnifying glass and studied the prints. The four-and-a half-year international manhunt was finally over. "It's a match," Garrett said.
Kasi, 38, was scheduled to be executed Thursday night at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia. His death would end an odyssey that began Jan. 25, 1993, during morning rush hour in Langley, Virginia, when Kasi stepped out of his Izusu pickup truck, shouldered an AK-47 and began firing methodically at motorists waiting to turn in to CIA headquarters. .In the five years since Kasi was convicted in Fairfax County Circuit Court and sentenced to death, he exhausted his appeals. Only the Supreme Court or Governor Mark Warner of Virginia was left Thursday to intervene.
The State Department has warned that Kasi's execution could result in retaliation against Americans around the world. Protesters have taken to the streets in Pakistan, including hundreds of angry university students in Multan. .Many consider the threat very real. Kasi was hailed as a hero among some in Pakistan and Afghanistan after the shooting. A day after his conviction in 1997, four American oil executives were killed in Pakistan, and U.S. officials speculated at the time that the slayings were in retaliation for the trial.
Kasi has appealed to his supporters to refrain from any violent response, his attorney, Charles Burke, said. "He doesn't want any uproar or retaliation. He doesn't want anyone to do anything," Burke said. .But Kasi also says he has no regrets. "He stands by what he did and now knows he's got to pay the ultimate price," Garrett said. .The FBI and the CIA never found evidence that Kasi was linked to a terrorist organization. But his violent acts that day foreshadowed future terrorist attacks against the United States.
Like a suicide bomber, Kasi was willing to sacrifice his life to protest U.S. foreign policy, which he believed was hurting Muslims. ."So much of America was surprised by 9/11, but, in fact, the degree of animosity and hatred that has been mobilized in Third World countries had been growing," said Jerrold Post, a George Washington University professor who has studied the psychology of terrorism. "We're not just talking about Al Qaeda; we're talking about the climate of radical Islam." .Harvey Kushner, a terrorism consultant at Long Island University, called Kasi the "perfect prototype of what we face in Al Qaeda. He's the guy who steps up to the plate." .During the plane ride to the United States, Kasi told Garrett he wanted to "teach a lesson" to the U.S. government. "He would have killed anyone at the gates of the CIA that day," said Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Horan Jr., who prosecuted Kasi. "He was getting even with the CIA for the way they treated the Muslim people of the world. He was, and I believe he is, proud of what he did, and I believe he'd do it again tomorrow morning if he had the chance."
.Kasi, who carried 150 rounds of ammunition that day, was aiming only at men - he believed killing women, who did not have any power in his country, would be wrong. He stopped firing only because there was no one left to shoot. .Kasi was able to climb back into his truck and continue down the road. He returned to his apartment, stuck the assault weapon in a green plastic bag, placed the bag under the sofa and grabbed something to eat at a McDonald's restaurant. .It was clear to Kasi from CNN news reports that the police had the wrong description of his vehicle and that no one had seen his license plate number. Nevertheless, he decided to spend the night at a Days Inn before catching a flight to Pakistan the next day. .A task force, led by Garrett, began combing through AK-47 purchases. An employee at one gun store recalled exchanging a customer's gun for an AK-47. The owner's name on the sales slip: Mir Aimal Kasi.
Kasi's roommate, who had reported him missing after the shootings, told the police that Kasi would get incensed watching CNN when he heard how Muslims were being treated. Kasi had said he was going to do "something big" at the White House, the Israeli Embassy or the CIA, but his roommate did not think much of it. The roommate let the police search the apartment, where they found the AK-47 under the couch. The ballistics matched, and the search began. .During the next four years, Garrett and other agents made frequent trips to Pakistan. Leads would evolve, then evaporate, in places as far away as Thailand. ."We literally followed up hundreds of leads that took us all over the globe," he said.
Finally, in the late spring of 1997, informants said agents could find Kasi in a hotel, the Shalimar, in Dera Ghazi Kahn. They produced recent photos and fingerprints. .At 4 a.m. June 15, wearing traditional Pakistani clothes over their jeans and weapons, they approached the hotel, which they were told would be unlocked. It wasn't. So they had no choice: They knocked. ."It was surreal," Garrett said. "It's dark. It's dusty. I felt like I was in a David Lynch movie. We're actually starting to sweat it." .On the trip home, Kasi did not resist when Garrett asked him about the shootings. He said he had done it because he was upset at how Muslims were treated by the CIA in their own countries, particularly Iraq. He hoped his actions would make a statement. ."He was very upfront about what he did. He didn't try to blame it on anyone. He didn't try to hide it," Horan said.
Americans urged to be vigilant .The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and consulates in Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi will close early Friday following the scheduled execution in Virginia of Kasi, Agence France-Presse reported from Washington. The embassy said in a notice that Americans should continue to be wary of the threat of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, "especially in light of the scheduled November 14 execution in the State of Virginia of Mir Aimal Kasi."
"CIA Shooter Kasi, Harbinger of Terror, Set to Die Tonight; U.S. Supreme Court, Virginina Governor Warner Deny Late Appeals," by Patricia Davis and Maria Glod. (November, 2002)
FBI special agent Brad Garrett wasn't sure the man on the bed in the seedy hotel room in Pakistan really was Mir Aimal Kasi. He had a beard and was heavier than the gunman who had opened fire outside CIA headquarters, killing two agency employees and injuring three other people. "Turn him over," Garrett told the other agents, their guns drawn, as he straddled the man in the $3-a-night room at the Shalimar Hotel in Dera Ghazi Kahn. Garrett then took the man's left thumb and pressed it onto an ink pad. Garrett had brought a photograph of Kasi's fingerprints in a bag. In the middle of the night, in a desolate, dusty town bordering Afghanistan, in 1997, the agent pulled out a magnifying glass and studied the prints. The 4-1/2-year international manhunt was finally over. "It's a match!" Garrett said.
The FBI and the CIA never found evidence that Kasi was linked to an organized terrorist organization. But his shocking, violent acts that day foreshadowed future terrorist acts against the United States here and abroad. Like a suicide bomber, Kasi was willing to sacrifice his life to protest U.S. foreign policy, which he believed was hurting Muslims worldwide. "So much of America was surprised by 9/11, but, in fact, the degree of animosity and hatred that has been mobilized in Third World countries had been growing," said Jerrold Post, a George Washington University professor who has studied the psychology of terrorism. "We're not just talking about al Qaeda; we're talking about the climate of radical Islam."
Harvey Kushner, a terrorism consultant at Long Island University, called Kasi the "perfect prototype of what we face in al Qaeda. He's the guy who steps up to the plate." During the plane ride to the United States, Kasi told Garrett he wanted to "teach a lesson" to the U.S. government. "He would have killed anyone at the gates of the CIA that day," said Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr., who prosecuted Kasi. "He was getting even with the CIA for the way they treated the Muslim people of the world. He was, and I believe he is, proud of what he did, and I believe he'd do it again tomorrow morning if he had the chance."
Kasi has said as much in various media interviews over the past several days. He had agreed to speak to The Washington Post but backed out moments before the scheduled interview. The U.S. State Department has warned that Kasi's execution could result in retaliation against Americans around the world. Protesters have taken to the streets in Pakistan, including hundreds of angry university students in Multan. Many consider the threat very real. Kasi was hailed as a hero among some in Pakistan and Afghanistan after the shooting. A day after his conviction in 1997, four American oil executives were killed in Pakistan, and U.S. officials speculated at the time that the slayings were in retaliation for the trial.
Kasi planned to spend much of what could be his last day praying, said Garrett, who has met regularly with Kasi on death row and was asked by the Pakistani native to attend his execution. Kasi has appealed to his supporters to refrain from any violent response, said his attorney, Charles R. Burke. "He doesn't want any uproar or retaliation. He doesn't want anyone to do anything," Burke said. But Kasi also says he has no regrets. "He stands by what he did and now knows he's got to pay the ultimate price," Garrett said.
It was bitterly cold Jan. 25, 1993, at the height of the morning rush, when Kasi stepped out of his truck in the left-turn lanes outside the CIA and began firing, the first shot piercing the rear window of a Volkswagen Golf. Judy Becker-Darling, sitting in the front passenger seat next to her husband, Frank Darling, heard the crash and thought another car had struck theirs. "Oh my God, somebody has a gun," Darling, 28, told his wife of only three months. "I've been shot."
As Darling urged his wife to hide under the dashboard, Kasi turned to another car trapped at the light and fatally shot Lansing Bennett, 66, a physician and CIA intelligence analyst. Kasi then walked between the double line of cars, shooting and wounding Calvin Morgan, 61, an engineer; Nicholas Starr, 60, a CIA analyst; and Stephen E. Williams, 48, an AT&T employee. Then Kasi returned to the Darlings' car and fired three more times, striking Frank Darling, a CIA employee who worked in covert operations, in the leg, groin and head. Out of the corner of her eye, Becker-Darling saw something rush past. She saw the gun, not Kasi. "I hope he runs out of bullets," she prayed.
Kasi, who carried 150 rounds of ammunition that day, was aiming only at men-he believed killing women, who did not have any power in his country, would be wrong. He stopped firing only because there was no one left to shoot. Kasi was surprised that he was able to climb back into his truck and continue down the road without having a shootout with police. When he got to Kirby Road, he turned right and headed for a park in McLean.
As law enforcement officials widened their search, Kasi was just five minutes away in the park, where he stayed for 90 minutes. No one seemed to be looking for him, so he returned to his Herndon apartment, stuck the assault weapon in a green plastic bag, placed the bag under the sofa and grabbed something to eat at McDonald's. It was clear to Kasi from CNN news reports that police had the wrong description of his vehicle and that no one had seen his license plate number. Nevertheless, he decided to spend the night at a Days Inn before catching a flight to Pakistan the next day.
A task force of Fairfax police and federal law enforcement officers, called "Langmur" for the Langley murders, tried to learn the identity of the gunman. Garrett, who arrived about 30 minutes after the shootings, was assigned to the case. On the theory that the gun was recently bought, the task force began combing through AK-47 purchases in Virginia and Maryland in the past year, Garrett said. There had been more than 1,600. An employee at a Chantilly gun store recalled exchanging a customer's gun for an AK-47. The owner's name on the sales slip: Mir Aimal Kasi.
Kasi's roommate, who had reported him missing after the shootings, told police that Kasi would get incensed watching CNN when he heard how Muslims were being treated. Kasi had said he was going to do "something big" at the White House, the Israeli Embassy or the CIA, but his roommate didn't think much of it. The roommate let police search the apartment, where they found the AK-47 under the couch. Soon after, Garrett got a double 911 page: The ballistics matched, and the search began. A month after the CIA shootings came the first bombing of the World Trade Center. Authorities wanted to know whether Kasi was acting alone or was part of some bigger plan. "The investigators spent a lot of time trying to find out: Did he have an accomplice? Was he part of some movement? Was he part of some collection that had other violence in mind?" Horan recalled.
During the next four years, Garrett and other agents made frequent trips to Pakistan. Developing and corroborating sources was difficult. Leads would evolve, then evaporate, in places as far away as Thailand. "We literally followed up hundreds of leads that took us all over the globe," Garrett said. Finally, in the late spring of 1997, informants said agents could find Kasi in a hotel, the Shalimar, in Dera Ghazi Kahn. They produced recent photos and fingerprints. Garrett and the other FBI agents began to get excited.
The team of four, including two agents from the hostage rescue team, practiced room entries, parking one agent in the hallway, Garrett said. The first agent in the room would not be armed and would jump Kasi when he answered the door. The other two would clear the room of people or weapons. They were pumped-and concerned. "What if we end up killing him? Or killing the wrong person? Or one of us gets killed?" At 4 a.m. June 15, 1997, wearing traditional Pakistani clothes over their jeans and weapons, they approached the hotel, which they were told would be unlocked. It wasn't. So they had no choice: They knocked. "It was surreal," Garrett said. "It's dark. It's dusty. I felt like I was in a David Lynch movie. We're actually starting to sweat it."
On the trip home, Kasi did not resist when Garrett asked him about the shootings. He said he had done it because he was upset at how Muslims were treated by the CIA in their own countries, particularly Iraq. He hoped his actions would make a statement. "He was very upfront about what he did. He didn't try to blame it on anyone. He didn't try to hide it," Horan said. Back home, Kasi became a hero, Garrett said.
To Garrett, who was involved in the arrest of Ramzi Yusef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Kasi's story sounded similar to Yusef's: He thought that if he caused enough havoc, it would change U.S. policies. "It was almost illogic logic," Garrett said. "It wasn't personal. It wasn't like hating individuals. It was more institutional."
Garrett made the first of many visits to Kasi on death row about three months after his November 1997 conviction. "Why haven't you executed me yet?" Kasi asked. The agent explained that it takes a few years in the United States. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Kasi told Garrett that he did not approve of the attack on the World Trade Center because innocent civilians were killed. He understood, however, the attack on the Pentagon, the symbol of government might.
Kushner, the terrorism expert, said that even though Kasi acted alone, he was the opening salvo for Muslim fundamentalists. "He was one of the dots that should have been connected before 9/11," Kushner said. "He was a serious player even though they were never able to link him to any specific group." Thomas J. Badey, a political scientist at Randolph Macon College, said the students' protests in Pakistan over Kasi's pending execution is a sign that the fervor isn't nearly over. "It appears that Kasi's fate is becoming a rallying cry in parts of Pakistan," Badey said. "He's the one foreign Islamic terrorist prosecuted in the United States who has been sentenced to death. The question is how effective is that as a tool in fighting terror, because he becomes a martyr for the cause."
Kasi's victims, like Kasi, hope there is no retaliation. "We will spend time in prayer for Kasi, that God will have mercy on his soul, for his family, that there be no terrorism reprisal, and for world peace," Becker-Darling's family said in a statement.
