The Washington Post
April 29, 1997, Tuesday, Final Edition
A SECTION; Pg. A01
Democratic Fund-Raiser Pursues Agenda on Sudan
David B. Ottaway, Washington Post Staff Writer
Mansoor Ijaz, a 35-year-old businessman, was precisely the kind of political activist the White House was seeking last year to help finance President Clinton's reelection campaign.
Wealthy and well-connected, Ijaz was more than willing to pitch in. By Election Day in November, he had raised $ 525,000 for the Democratic cause,(snip)
Having earned access to the Clinton administration through his fund-raising prowess, Ijaz has met with a succession of senior officials in the White House, State Department and Congress to further his business interests through changes in U.S. policy toward Islamic countries, particularly Sudan, a government long accused of sanctioning international terrorism.In a half-dozen trips to Khartoum since July, Ijaz repeatedly has met with Sudan's president, Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Bashir, and the country's militant Islamic leader, Hassan Turabi, advising them on how to soften the Clinton administration's position, according to Sudanese officials, Ijaz and U.S. officials familiar with his activities.
During that period, Ijaz also met with senior White House and State Department officials -- including Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger, now national security adviser -- to urge a policy toward Sudan of "constructive engagement," which would include enlisting Turabi's help in curbing international terrorists. A White House spokesman confirmed Berger's meeting with Ijaz last August and said the businessman had provided helpful "insight."(snip)
Whether Ijaz's activities have had any influence on U.S. policy toward Sudan remains unclear. "We have not found his analysis on Sudan compelling in any way," said David Johnson, a White House spokesman, who added that Ijaz "had provided a valuable perspective."
(snip)Besides his session with Berger, Ijaz's U.S. government contacts in recent months have included meetings with Susan E. Rice, special assistant to the president for African affairs; senior officials in the State Department's African affairs office; and several senior members of Congress, including Rep. Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.), ranking minority member on the House International Relations Committee, according to government sources. Ijaz also has had meetings with FBI and U.S. intelligence officials, according to a source familiar with his activities.
Earlier this month, Ijaz returned from another trip to Khartoum with a letter from Bashir to Hamilton. Bashir offered in the letter to allow FBI agents unrestricted access in Sudan to determine whether the government supports international terrorists, according to a Sudanese official. Hamilton, who forwarded the letter to the State Department, said in an interview that he met with Ijaz three or four times in recent months and found him "a very bright, energetic guy" with "a lot of contacts in the Sudan."
(snip)"I am of the view that Doctor Turabi has access to every single major fringe radical group on the face of the planet," Ijaz said. "Let's use him to be our bridge to all of these fringe radical groups."
As a precedent, Ijaz cited Turabi's role as a mediator between France and Algerian Islamic militants responsible for bombings in Paris in 1995. He also noted Sudan's cooperation in the 1994 extradition to France of the international terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, also known as "Carlos the Jackal," who had been living for years in Khartoum.
A month after Ijaz first visited Sudan last July, Turabi sent Clinton a letter mentioning that he had met the Pakistani American and saying he strongly supported Ijaz's proposal for "constructive engagement on all fronts."
A senior U.S. official said the administration has not replied to Turabi's letter and regards Sudanese steps toward reconciliation as "cosmetic."
"Actions," the official added, "speak louder than words."
Is Hamilton not a member of the 9/11 Commission?