Remember Libya for it is important to Cannistraro because of he Pan Am 103 thing, and important for various reasons to Jimmy Carter, Joseph Wilson, and al Amoudi, the guy who donated to Hillary Clinton via the American Muslim Council. She reported the donation as having come from the American Museum Council- later returned the donations when theis became known. This guy also was in on the Islamic group which selected muslim chaplains for the US military.
Remember that at least one of the chaplains caught up in the Gitmo spy case was Yee, who was a former Lutheran who converted and went to Syria for clerical training. He would have ben selected by al Amoudi's group. He'd certainly met with them early on.
In toting money all over the world, Al Amoudi made a number of trips to Libya and Syria and elsewhere before he wass arrested. Theories about the planned use of the money he obtained was to help lobby for Libya. But there may be a lot in it for Syria too.
See this excerpt:
Also included are letters of support for Al-Arian from around the country. Those letters were written by professors and citizens, including Vincent Cannistraro, former CIA chief of counter-terrorism.
“You have essentially caved in to hysteria that is being promoted by some irresponsible media,” Cannistraro wrote, addressing Genshaft. “Your action is both a blow to academic freedom and, dare I say it, a cowardly act that reflects poorly on both the university and your own lack of convictions.”
- "Al-Arian supporters take his cause on-line," http://www.usforacle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/07/15/3d32b6d456cdaWhat does that tell us? Since this article, Al-Arian has been arrested.
I also recall Cannistraro has made conflicting statements about the threat posed by Iraq and their al Qaeda connection. When clinton was president (God help us) he acknowledged it. Before this war he denied it. ---- 52 posted on 09/30/2003 3:29 PM PDT by cyncooper
While secret evidence is a disturbing thought, it turns out Al Arian had a lot of issues about him that are "probable cause." A whole lot of issues. Does cannistraro still hold the same views?
The media drums continue beating:Wonder if he's ever chatted anonymously with Capitol Hill Blue?"U.S. officials say a handful of suspected al-Qaida members have been captured in Iraq, but most are probably low-level operatives. The biggest catch was a man described as a midlevel terrorist operative who worked for Zarqawi, who was nabbed in April near Baghdad. Vince Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorism chief, said last week it's still unclear how much support Zarqawi and his followers got from Saddam. 'That he (Saddam) was promoting al-Qaida is absurd,' Cannistraro said. 'That there was a tolerance for a Zarqawi network in Iraq seems clear.' "
Cannistraro, for those who do not remember the name, was in charge of the CIA unit over Nicaragua during the Iran-Contra affair. He was retired as far back as 1986. How he would supposedly have any knowledge of any current intelligence is unclear, and the media certainly is not doing anything to make it clear as they rush his quotes into the papers.
The fact that they are is, in itself, interesting. Back in the 1980s, Cannistraro used to be quoted quite a bit by the Washington Times. The rest of the mainstream media would not touch him as a source. Now, however, they are all rushing to publish what he says. Funny how that works, isn't it? Posted by: William / 5:32 PM