Don't ignore Rohrabacher's links to extremists
By Yvonne Wachter
Certified shorthand reporter who lives in Huntington Beach
Register reporter Dena Bunis recently wrote of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher that "not only will he not debate Dornan ... Rohrabacher refuses to be in the same room with Dornan" [The Buzz, Local, Jan. 19]. Bunis assumes this is because Rohrabacher does not want to discuss his history of illegal drug use with the man trying to take his congressional seat. The true reason is that Rohrabacher is a coward. He knows he would be asked by Dornan to explain his ties to the Islamic Institute, a group with reported terrorist roots and connections.
Some background is in order. In an article in this month's issue of the American Spectator, the president of the Islamic Institute is identified as Khaled Saffuri. The article states that "while Saffuri was on staff at the AMC (American Muslim Council), the group had invited one Yusuf al-Qaradawi to speak at a conference." The article quotes al-Qaradawi as saying, "O God, destroy the aggressor, treacherous Jews. O God, destroy the aggressor Americans."
In a spring 2002 issue of Insight magazine, J. Michael Waller wrote that a "congressman was warned of [a] lobbyist's suicide-bomber link." Late last year, articles by Frank J. Gaffney Jr. - "A Troubling Influence" and "A Troubling Influence Continued" - in FrontPage magazine reported the same thing.
This congressman is none other than Dana Rohrabacher, and the lobbyist is Khaled Saffuri. Gaffney also reported that Abduraham Alamoudi, "a supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah," was an initial financier of the Islamic Institute. Alamoudi is awaiting trial in Virginia, accused of possessing $340,000 in cash traceable to Osama bin Laden and others. Rohrabacher reportedly accepted donations upwards of $15,000 from Alamoudi and his associates. The congressman's own financial statements for the past three years state that he has accepted annual trips to the Middle East for him and a family member, funded by the Islamic Institute.
The reports citing Rohrabacher are from solid sources. Gaffney formerly held senior positions in the Reagan Defense Department and has been president of the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C., since 1988. Waller is a professor at the Institute of World Politics.
The Center for Security Policy obtained an affidavit from a former Rohrabacher staffer describing a conversation she had with Khaled Saffuri in Rohrabacher's own office in December 2001. She stated that he acknowledged "sponsor(ing) the child of a suicide bomber." Gaffney reports that shortly thereafter Rohrabacher provided "a personal endorsement for Saffuri."
I am outraged that my Republican Party in Orange County has failed to pay attention to Rohrabacher's actions. My son, Capt. Chris Wachter, is a B1-B bomber pilot, now fighting terror elements abroad. How dare Rohrabacher accept money from and maintain friendships with people who are supporting the families of terrorists while our loved ones are risking their lives to eliminate them?
The Lincoln Club, the Republican Central Committee, the Republican Party and leading elected officials should withdraw their support of Rohrabacher immediately. He's holding the door open for interaction with terror elements right here in America. True patriots will not stand for this insidious assault on our nation. Rohrabacher must be defeated in his campaign for re-election.
Gee, in an open Republic, if you truly stand for something--your record, your votes, your associations, your past, why you ought to stand up and join the debate in the primary by your opponents in the same Party.
I think Dana is a cooked goose after reading this. If he retreats, he'll be labeled "yeller" and if he debates, anti-Arab Terrorism conservative Robert Dornan will wipe the floor with him and there is no telling what kinds of things will be let out of the bag.
"Wow, man....(puff, puff, inhale, exhale), like, bummer...."