Terrorist arrest shows holes in White House's Muslim outreach program; warnings ignored

centerforsecuritypolicy ^ | 2/24/2003 | centerforsecuritypolicy

[TLBSHOW]

Terrorist arrest shows holes in White House's Muslim outreach program; warnings ignored

People are asking: Who is responsible for getting terrorist figures into the White House? Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sami Al-Arian, arrested this week by the FBI as an alleged mastermind and funder of suicide bombings, was part of the White House's controversial outreach plan to Muslims and Arab-Americans, the Washington Post reports.

According to Newsweek, White House political officials disregarded warnings from the Secret Service that Al-Arian was a potential terrorist, and let him in anyway.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that the alleged terrorists were running influence operations to penetrate the US political system and influence policy.

The news confirms what the Center for Security Policy has warned the Bush administration - first privately and later publicly - for nearly two years: That the architects of the White House's well-meaning Muslim outreach program paid little or no regard to national security issues, and ignored information about alleged extremists, including supporters of terrorism, who had hijacked the administration's initiative.

According to the Post, Al-Arian was invited to the White House as part of an American Muslim Council (AMC) delegation on June 22, 2001: "The meeting was controversial within the White House even before it took place. The group that included Al-Arian was scheduled to be briefed by Vice President Cheney, but Cheney canceled. That morning, the Jerusalem Post had run a front-page article headlined, 'Cheney to host pro-terrorist Muslim group.'"

Al-Arian's arrest under a 50-count federal grand jury indictment is sure to prompt the Secret Service and others to revisit the issue, and to investigate just who has manipulated the White House to allow extremists and terrorists into the presidential compound where they have been treated as legitimate representatives of moderate, non-violent causes.

On Friday, February 21, the Wall Street Journal reported that Al-Arian's arrest "likely will inflame a debate embroiling the Republican Party over efforts to court Muslim Americans." The battle, according to the Journal, is led by conservative activist Grover Norquist, "a close ally of the Bush White House who spent years wooing Muslims through a group he founded called the Islamic Institute," against national security-minded critics who include Center for Security Policy President Frank Gaffney and American Conservative Union President David Keene.

Norquist's Islamic Institute, the Wall Street Journal continued, has received money from "a network of Islamic organizations in Virginia under investigation by federal authorities for suspected ties to terrorism." Meanwhile, Norquist has been a vocal attacker of key provisions of the Bush administration's anti-terrorism legislation proposals, and has led an effort from the right to discredit and undermine Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Insight magazine is reporting that Al-Arian and Norquist have worked together, and that Norquist has gone on record saying he is "proud" to have accepted an award in July 2001 from Al-Arian's National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom (NCPPF), which is described as a legal and political support group for international terrorist organizations.

Keene alluded to the problem in his column for The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper. "Make no mistake about it," wrote Keene, "these people are our enemies. To deny this would be foolish and to empower them in any way is a mistake of the first order because doing so legitimizes their claim to speak for all Muslims." Keene added that twice in the last six months, "fellow travelers" and "zealots" have tried to prevent critics of Islamist terrorism from addressing conservative audiences: "In both instances they sought veto power over who should or should not be allowed to discuss the extremist Muslim connection to world terrorism and in both instances they were rebuffed. Having failed to keep the objects of their enmity from speaking, they then proceeded to denounce publicly in the press and on the Internet the sponsors of the events at which they spoke as, you guessed it, 'bigots and racists.'"

Islamic Institute Chairman Khaled Saffuri claims to be shocked at the arrest of Al-Arian, telling Newsweek, "If these charges are true, then he’s betrayed me—and a whole lot of others in the Muslim community." Nevertheless, Norquist has continued to rail against critics of Islamist terrorist fronts, calling them "bigots and racists."

Is another shoe about to drop? According to the federal grand jury indictment, Al-Arian and his confederates tried to penetrate the mainstream political system to influence U.S. government counterterrorism policy. The Wall Street Journal states, "the indictment alludes to efforts by the defendants to gain political clout, alleging that they sought 'to obtain support from influential individuals in the United States under the guise of promoting and protecting Arab rights."

Again, the question must be answered: Who invited and cleared Al-Arian and other suspected terrorist supporters into the White House?

[aristeides]

If this forum becomes the kind of cheerleading forum some people seem to want, I can't imagine why people would want to read it.

[Sabertooth]

I think you need to remember that these people were allowed into the WH before 9/11.

See post #90 on this thread. The American Muslim Council was at the White House last month. Also, many of these organizations and individuals were featured prominently by the White House in the aftermath of 9/11, even as one of them, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, was being sought for questioning at his house in California by the FBI. There are numrous links on these threads to many White House meetings by members of these groups between 9/11 and January 2003. It's never stopped.

This is an ongoing story, not "old news," despite claims otherwise. There is a lot of new information being unearthed on all of thes threads, not just in the articles, but also in the comments by Freepers.

I understand concern about Norquist (I am not thrilled with him myself) but the manner in which these threads are posted gives ammunition to the enemy. Trying to lay the blame on someone else for the dissension on this forum is disingenuous, in my opinion.

First, Norquist has provided the ammunition, by all accounts. The truth will come out, and it's better if our side is honest and forthcoming in that regard.

Second, I agree that trying to blame others is disingenuous, and the culpability for that lies most heavily on the shoulders of those attacking the messengers, whether they are news organizations or posters on this forum.

I do not believe that President Bush has anything to fear from the sun shining in; he has been poorly served by subordinates in this. The sooner the truth is known and the culprits dispatched, the sooner we can get the whole mess behind us.

Sidebar: one other reason for the need to post all of these stories at FR... disappearing source links.

I was recently doing some research on the Anthrax attacks, and was astonished at just how many of the articles were gone from the archives of various news orgs. Thankfully, many of them had been preserved at FR, though there was a lot of redundancy. However, in the course of my research, I found important details buried in innocuous articles, the significance of which was not appparent at the original time of posting. FR is an invaluable archive in that regard.

[aristeides]

FR is an invaluable archive in that regard.

To the extent it becomes a cheerleading forum, it will cease being that.

[DoctorMichael]

We declared war on Germany. We didn't declare war on Lutherans.

This arguement is TOTALLY wrong and Invalid.

Islamic countries DO NOT recognize the Western concept of "Separation of Church and State".

"Sharia law" is by definition the use of the Koran (the rantings of a schizophrenic (possessed), pedophile) as the basis for the governance and social-order in the Islamic States. THEY blur the line between Church and State...............not us.

I think the major problem STILL rests with contemporary Islamic States: They have NOT undergone a Reformation-like crisis (like we have, historically, here in the West) where they have to question the very basis of their own beliefs and address their own societies problems stemming from their religion. This is their problem, once again, not ours. It becomes our problem when jets filled with innocent civilians are used as instruments of Jihad ie. STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM.

Moreover, I don't hold out much hope for them either. They have no concept like "Render onto Caesar what is Caesar's" in the Koran, that I am aware of.

[Sabertooth]

Here's an example of what I'm talking about, from a source page that hasn't yet appeared on FR:

International Security | Response to Terrorism

28 November 2001

President Bush Meets With Pakistani Americans

Discusses debt relief, Kashmir, and detention of al-Najjar

President Bush met with a group of Pakistani Americans at the White House November 28 to discuss their concerns related to Pakistan and other issues.

A media release issued by the American Muslim Council (AMC) described the meeting as warm and positive and said the president showed understanding of Pakistani Americans' main concerns.

"President Bush was appreciative of the efforts General Pervez Musharraf is making to combat terrorism in that part of the world, and he also seems to understand centrality of the two issues facing Pakistan: huge debt, and the Kashmir dispute," said Dr. Amanullah Khan, AMC Vice Chairman.

President Bush also promised to look into the recent arrest of Palestinian academic Dr. Mazen Al-Najjar in Florida.

Following is the text of the American Muslim Council media release:

Pakistani Americans Term Meeting With President Bush as Warm, Positive

Washington, DC, November 29, 2001: A group of Pakistani Americans was invited to meet with President George Bush at the White House yesterday. Among the invitees were the heads of various Pakistani American organizations, including the vice chairman of the American Muslim Council, Dr. Amanullah Khan, and a member of the AMC Advisory Board, Dr. Khalid Qazi.

Participants of the meeting were appreciative of President Bush's candid thoughts on issues pertaining to the subcontinent. Talking to the AMC Media Department, the participants said the President sounded encouraging over suggestions for debt retirement for Pakistan and giving the Administration's urgent attention to the Kashmir dispute.

"President Bush was appreciative of the efforts General Pervez Musharraf is making to combat terrorism in that part of the world, and he also seems to understand centrality of the two issues facing Pakistan: huge debt, and the Kashmir dispute, " said the AMC Vice Chairman.

One of the participants, Dr. Raana Akbar, President-elect of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA), raised the issue of Dr. Mazen Al-Najjar with the President. According to Dr. Akbar, the President took notes and promised to do something about it.

The meeting, which was originally scheduled for 15 minutes only, lasted for more than 45 minutes. About 17 people from around the United States attended the meeting.

LINK

[Sir Gawain]

I miss all the good threads.

[PhiKapMom]

As I said, I would like this issue addressed internally by the White House. I do not want a bunch of scare-mongering threads posted in order to help the democrats in their efforts to derail the war and regain power.

I couldn't agree with you more! It is getting more and more obvious what the agenda is of some people on here because they won't let this topic go and just want to keep posting the same, old tired crap!

We are getting ready to put our men and women in harm's way and this is the #1 topic by some anti-Bush people on here? Makes absolutely no sense to me. One more time I see about he had his picture taken with this professor and I think I will scream.

Where is the outrage from these same people about the filibuster on Estrada?

[TLBSHOW]

BTTT

[TLBSHOW]

Where is the outrage from these same people about the filibuster on Estrada?


I agree with you and I am outraged but I voiced what I think should be done there and was told all kinds of excusses why they are doing the right thing. The democrats have no plans to drop it so unless we keep the rats to it 24/7 we will have a hard time getting it done.

[Fred Mertz]

Everyone misses them when they get relegated to the smokey back room. It appears to be by design or decree lately. Conservatives aren't supposed to debate or disagree in public apparently.

[Fred Mertz]

Where is the outrage from these same people about the filibuster on Estrada?

I was outraged for days about it. The Dims wore me down. It now rests on Frist's shoulders as far as I'm concerned.

[Sabertooth]

And another example, from a White House News release from November of 2002...

President Hosts Iftaar Dinner
Remarks by the President at Iftaar Dinner
State Dining Room

6:05 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Thank you all for coming. I'm honored to welcome such a distinguished group of ambassadors and American citizens to the White House to help usher in the holy month of Ramadan.

Islam is a religion that brings hope and comfort to more than a billion people around the world. It has made brothers and sisters of every race. It has given birth to a rich culture of learning and literature and science. Tonight we honor the traditions of a great faith by hosting this Iftaar at the White House.

I'm honored that our great Secretary of State is with us today. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here. I appreciate Your Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, for coming. I want to thank members of my administration who are here -- in particular, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, who's the Director of the National Institute of Health. I want to thank all the ambassadors who are here -- it's good to see you all again. And the other representatives from the Organization of Islamic Conference. I appreciate so very much my fellow Americans here, many from the Muslim community.

Ramadan is a special time of prayer and fasting, contemplation of God's greatness, and service to those in need. According to Muslim teachings, this season commemorates the revelation of God's word in the holy Koran to the prophet Muhammad. Today this word inspires faithful Muslims to lead lives of honesty and integrity and compassion.

In hosting tonight's Iftaar, I send a message to all the nations represented by their ambassadors here tonight: America treasures your friendship. America honors your faith.

We see in Islam a religion that traces its origins back to God's call on Abraham. We share your belief in God's justice, and your insistence on man's moral responsibility. We thank the many Muslim nations who stand with us against terror. Nations that are often victims of terror, themselves.

Tonight's Iftaar also sends a message to all Americans: our nation is waging a war on a radical network of terrorists, not on a religion and not on a civilization. If we wage this war to defend our principles, we must live up to those principles, ourselves. And one of the deepest commitments of America is tolerance. No one should be treated unkindly because of the color of their skin or the content of their creed. No one should be unfairly judged by appearance or ethnic background, or religious faith. We must uphold these values of progress and pluralism and tolerance.

George Washington said that America gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance. This was our policy at our nation's founding; this is our policy today. America rejects all forms of religious intolerance. America grieves with all the victims of religious bigotry. And America opposes all who commit evil in God's name.

Ramadan and the upcoming holiday seasons are a good time to remember the ties of friendship and respect that bind us together. Learning from each other we can build bridges of mutual trust and understanding. Working together we can create a better future for people of all faiths.

I thank you for coming to the White House this evening. I wish you all a blessed Ramadan. God bless. (Applause.)

END 6:09 P.M. EST

WhiteHouse.org

Here's a list of the attendees. I don't know most of the names and orgs, but notice if you scroll down a bit, the American Muslim attendees... Khaled Saffuri of the Islamic Institute and a member of the American Muslim Council. These are some of the very terrorist sympathizers we've been discussing.

ATTENDEES AT THE PRESIDENT'S White House IFTAAR DINNER

AMBASSADORS OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE

His Excellency Dr. Farid Abboud, Ambassador of Lebanon
His Excellency Baktybek Abdrissaev, Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic
The Honorable Mahmoud Aboud, Charge d'Affaires ad interim, Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros
The Honorable Augustine Agada, Charge d'Affaires ad interim of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
His Excellency Syed Hasan Ahmad, Ambassador of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
His Excellency Bader Omar Al Dafa, Ambassador of the State of Qatar
His Excellency Alasri Saeed Al Dhahri, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahayan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, United Arab Emirates
His Excellency Mohamed Ali Al Khusaiby, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman
His Excellency Abdulwahab A. Al-Hajjri, Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen
His Excellency Rashid Alimov, Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan
His Excellency Khalifa Ali Al-Khalifa, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain
His Excellency Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait
His Excellency Dr. Rostom Al-Zoubi, Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic
His Excellency Hatem Atallah, Ambassador of Tunisia
His Excellency Amadou Lamine Ba, Appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Senegal
His Excellency Rafiou Alpha Oumar Barry, Ambassador of the Republic of Guinea
Mr. Emad Madani (Guest of His Royal Highness Prince Bandar bin Sultan), Charge d'Affaires ad interim of Saudi Arabia
His Excellency Soemadi D. M. Brotodiningrat, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia
The Honorable Hassan Conteh, Charge d'Affaires ad interim of Sierra Leone
Mr. Henrique Da Silva, Charge d'Affaires ad interim of the Republic of Guinea Bissau
His Excellency Cheick Oumar Diarrah, Ambassador of the Republic of Mali
Mr. Guy Marcel Eboumy, Counselor, Embassy of the Gabonese Republic
The Honorable Raymond Epote, Charge d'Affaires ad interim of the Republic of Cameroon
His Excellency M. Nabil Fahmy, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt
His Excellency Sheikh Abdul Khalid Ghazzali, Ambassador of Malaysia
The Honorable Mohammed Ghozlani, Charge d'Affaires ad interim of the Kingdom of Morocco
His Excellency Dr. Odeen Ishmael, Ambassador of the Republic of Guyana
His Excellency Idriss Jazairy, Ambassador of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
His Excellency Karim Kawar, Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
His Excellency Shavkat Shodiyevich Khamrakulov, Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan
His Excellency Pascal D. Kokora, Ambassador of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
His Excellency Sakthip Krairiksh, Ambassador of Thailand
His Excellency (Dr Mohamed Latheef, Ambassador of the Republic of Maldives
His Excellency Dr. Osman Faruk Logoglu, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey
Mr. Counselor Elmar Mamedyarov, Charge d'Affaires ad interim of the Republic of Azerbaijan
His Excellency Cyrille Oguin, Ambassador of the Republic of Benin
His Excellency Roble Olhaye, Ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti
His Excellency Meret Bairamovich Orazov, Ambassador of Turkmenistan
His Excellency Mohamedou Ould Michel, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
His Excellency Armando Alexandre Panguene, Ambassador of the Republic of Mozambique
His Excellency Pengiran Anak Dato Puteh, Ambassador of the State of Brunei Darussalam
His Excellency Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Ambassador of Pakistan
His Excellency Kanat B. Saudabayev, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan
His Excellency Essa Bokar Sey, Ambassador of the Gambia
His Excellency Ishaq Shahryar, Ambassador of Afghanistan
His Excellency Hassaballah Ahmat Soubiane, Ambassador of the Republic of Chad
Her Excellency Edith Grace Ssempala, Ambassador of the Republic of Uganda
His Excellency Dr. Fatos Tarifa, Ambassador of the Republic of Albania
His Excellency Emmanuel Touaboy, Ambassador of Central African Republic

AMERICAN MUSLIM LEADERS
Mr. Khaled Saffuri, Islamic Institute
Dr. Ziad Asali, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Dr. Yahya Basha, American Muslim Council
Shaykh Hicham Muhammad Kabbani, Islamic Supreme Council of America
Dr. Sayyid Syeed, Secretary General, Islamic Society of North America
Dr. Akbar Ahmed, American University
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, UCLA School of Law
Imam Hassan Qazwini, Islamic Center of America
Mr. Hanif Akhtar, Pakistani Business Association
Dr. Raana Akbar, Association Pakistani Physicians of North America
Dr. Nisar Chaudry, Pakistani American Congress
Imam W. Deen Mohammed, The Mosque Cares
Mr. Qaseem Uqdah, American Muslim Armed Forces Council
Imam Mohamed Magid Ali, All Dulles Area Muslim Society
Mrs. Seeme Hasan, Hasan Family Foundation
Mrs. Guler Koknar, Assembly of Turkish American Assoc
Dr. Shamim Ibrahim, NISWA
Dr. Azizah Al-Hibri, President, Karamah
Ms. Shareefa Alkhateeb, North American Council for Muslim Women
Mr. Ali Jawad, Armada Oil and Gas
Mr. Farooq Kathwari, Ethan Allen
Dr. Amanullah Khan, Cancer Center Associates
Dr. Laith Kubba, National Endowment for Democracy
Mr. Mohammad Fadel, National Association of Muslim Lawyers

DanielPipes.org

Looks like they're still getting into the White House, doesn't it?

[bvw]

Oh is that the Approved Outrage of the Day ® ? Sorry, I guess my neural thought-control implant didn't take or something like that. I'll check in at HQ and get it checked out right away.

[aristeides]

I couldn't agree with you more, brother. Doubleplusungood!

[TLBSHOW]

Looks like they're still getting into the White House, doesn't it?

It does to me and if it is going to go on then the terrorist will have done what they set out to do in 2000 and that is take over this country.

[bvw]

This is shaping up as a Battle of the Sexes, more than anything, I think. Women tend to cliques for some reason. My wife joined a Mothers of Twins Club back eighteen years ago -- it was in process of busting up over advanced clique-ishness. She and a few others held steadfast, kept the doors open, welcomed in new members and with a light hand kept them away from the cliques. In time they outlasted the cliques. The club then had a big growth spurt. As the twins got older, my wife spent less and less time there -- once again the club is in decline as cliques take over.

Guys don't clique up the same way, no where near the same way.

[aristeides]

If that's the explanation, isn't it odd that they seem to expect men to behave like women?

[Fred Mertz]

Then how do you explain Luis Gonzalez then? Never mind....LOL

[bvw]

Puuting on my social-anthropologist hat: That could be because the male-female cues of real life are missing on-line.

[bvw]

Luis? Surely he loves women! It's one way of getting in tight with them....