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Local tutoring could fit into puzzle of attacks Woman says she taught Arab flight students By MELISSA MARTIN A Rogue Valley woman's claim that she tutored Arab aviation students is one of hundreds of tips that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in Oregon are checking out this week. The woman, who asked that her name be withheld for fear of retaliation, said she tutored 15 to 17 students in reading and writing between December 1996 and April 1998 in the Rogue Valley. "They said they wanted to become proficient in English and then return home to their country to go to flight school," she said. There was no way to confirm or corroborate her story and no evidence that connects it with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon or the hijacked jet that crashed in Pennsylvania. The Rogue Valley tutor said she contacted a public relations firm for advice on how to respond to media questions and interview requests from the Mail Tribune, NBC Nightly News and local television stations. She says she was instructed not to release the names of the students she tutored. Hundreds of such leads, both in and out of state, are consuming the time of Oregon's 100 FBI agents, a spokeswoman from Portland said. "Every FBI person in the state of Oregon is working on the national investigation," said Beth Ann Steele, public affairs officer. More than 100,000 tips have been called in to FBI hot lines across the country, The Associated Press reported. "We are following hundreds and hundreds of tips that have come in - people calling in to our office as well as tips coming from other parts of the country - that relate to Oregon in some fashion," she said, adding that she couldn't be more specific. It's like working a puzzle and not knowing which pieces fit into the big picture, said Medford FBI agent Kerry Larsen. "That's why we check everything out," he said. The Rogue Valley tutor said the students were enrolled in American Language Academy, a private business on the Southern Oregon University campus. She said the students didn't hold jobs but were financed by $2,500 monthly stipends from "companies" in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Djibouti. She learned of their plans to return home for pilot training when she became better acquainted through social gatherings. "I was their friend," she said. It's not unusual for Arab students to take English classes at the American Language Academy in Ashland, although a higher percentage of students are Asian because of the Pacific Rim, said director Amy Lepon. "We've had Arab students in the past and you can call any language program, private or public, and find the same," Lepon said. Learning to read and write English is necessary for anyone who wants to be successful in any business, she said. Trying to draw a connection between language studies and terrorist attacks would be "far-fetched," she said. "There's no reason there would be a connection," she said. The Rogue Valley tutor described the students as deeply religious men ages 17 to 27 who attended weekly prayer services. But the education director of an Ashland mosque said he's never met extremists in the 25 years he's lived in the Rogue Valley, although he received an anti-American e-mail a couple of years ago that alarmed him. "I haven't seen any fanatics, at least not around me," said Pete Seda Ghaty, of the Qur'an Foundation and Islamic study center in Ashland. However, he encourages people to call the FBI if they think they have information that might help the investigations. And he welcomes telephone calls from angry people. "When people call me, I understand what they feel because I am angry, too, about what has happened to our country," Ghaty said. "I got attacked not only as an American, but as a Muslim. My faith got attacked by a satanic group. All these years of helping with the education and understanding (of Islam) may have come down with the twin towers." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.