Posted on 07/17/2006 9:18:01 PM PDT by Flavius
WASHINGTON (AFP) - American Muslims chafe at the US government's hands-off approach to Israeli reprisals and worry about countless relatives and friends trapped by violence in Lebanon. merican Islamic Congress director Zainab Al-Suwaij, seen here in 2004, had an even more immediate goal, urging the US to actively lobby for an end to violence. "The policy for the US should be stopping the violence, period, and starting to solve the problem through negotiations."(AFP/File/Stephen Jaffe)
US officials say Israel "has the right to defend itself," since its incursion into Gaza three weeks ago and air raids on Lebanon, but President George W. Bush's stance offends Americans who are Muslims or of Arab descent.
Early last week, a coalition of 11 major Muslim organizations publicly called on Bush to forcefully condemn the attacks on Gaza and to designate as "war crimes" the destruction of Palestinian civilian infrastructure.
After the Israeli bombing of Lebanon, the appeals for denouncing Israel have multiplied.
"Once again America's image and interests worldwide are being harmed by one-sided support for Israeli actions," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest US Muslim rights group.
"We're urging Muslims in America and other people of conscience to contact their elected officials to tell them that we have to have balanced foreign policy for the Middle East, one that is driven by American interests, not Israeli interests."
American Islamic Congress director Zainab Al-Suwaij had an even more immediate goal, urging the US to actively lobby for an end to violence.
"The policy for the US should be stopping the violence, period, and starting to solve the problem through negotiations."
The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee announced a rally outside the White House Tuesday to "protest Israeli military action in Lebanon and Gaza."
The committee, founded in 1980 by former US senator of Arab descent James Abourezk, calls itself the largest Arab civil rights group in the United States.
And on Wednesday, leaders of Arab-American communities around the United States plan to meet in Washington to discuss the crisis in the Mideast.
The plight of an estimated 25,000 US citizens in Lebanon, many of whom are dual nationals, has injected a sense of urgency to the gathering.
The Arab American Institute, which says it represents the policy and community interests of US Arab Americans, said 40 percent of the 3.5 million Arab-Americans are of Lebanese descent.
The institute has posted on its website photographs of Arab-American vacationers, children and visitors trapped in Lebanon by the fighting.
"In many cases (there is) no way for them to leave, even if a plan were to be developed, they can't go from one part of the country to the other to get out," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.
The United States has chartered a cruise ship for evacuations that can carry 750 passengers on each five-hour voyage between Lebanon and Cyprus, beginning Tuesday under protection of a US destroyer.
US helicopters flew 64 Americans from Beirut over the past two days, according to the military, without specifying whether they were embassy personnel, dual nationals or tourists.
Janah El Horr, a 24-year-old Lebanese who has been living in the US for three years, said she had been optimistic about Lebanon's prospects after the end of the country's devastating civil war in 1990.
"We were all happy with how (much) the country was able to achieve -- and in such a short time after the (civil) war and how the Lebanese people always thrive and have the will to overcome their civil war," said Horr, who recently returned from a a visit to her native country.
"It brings chills all over to see what this country is going through, so much destruction and pain and being threatened with a new war," she said.
They lie , about everything , all they time. It's part of their culture to lie .I hope Israel wipes the wold clean of this human garbage once and for all. Now is their chance to do what will eventually have to be done at some point anyway .
I guess this coalition of 11 major Arab-American groups should have long ago insisted that Hizbollah and Ham-Ass not setup shop in Lebanon.
Oh snap!
* CAIR : Previously mentioned, CAIR was formed by three individuals from the Islamic Association for Palestine or IAP. As stated in Congressional testimony: The first manifestation of Hamas presence in the United States was the creation of the Islamic Association for Palestine for North America in 1981. Founded by Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook, IAP has served as a Hamas support organization in the United States by publishing Hamas communiqués, distributing Hamas recruitment videos and hosting conferences raising monetary and popular support for Hamas. ------ "Conversations with a Terrorist," by Joe Kaufman, FrontPageMagazine.com, 6/08/04
* Omar M. Ahmad : CAIR Chairman Omar M. Ahmad told a crowd of California Muslims in July, 1998, "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran should be the highest authority in America and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth." - san Ramon Velley Herald (California paper) via ------------------- "The threat among us ," TownHall.com , May 20, 2003 , Cal Thomas
* Nihad Awad : Executive Director of CAIR ; Former public relations director for the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP) A palestinian born in Jordan and now a U.S. Citizen. " I am in support of the Hamas movement." ---------Nihad Awad via 12 posted on 07/06/2003 7:01:25 AM PDT by joesnuffy
* Ghassan Elashi : A founder of the Texas chapter of a highly influential U.S. Islamic lobby group was found guilty of supporting terrorism....
...Ghassan Elashi, along with two brothers, was convicted in Dallas yesterday [April 15, 2005] of channeling funds to a high-ranking official of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook. Elashi was a board member of the Texas chapter of the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American Islamic Relations -- the third CAIR figure to be convicted on federal terrorism charges since 9-11.
CAIR is a spin-off of the Richardson, Texas-based Islamic Association For Palestine, or IAP, which was founded by Marzook. Former FBI counterterrorism chief Oliver Revell has called the IAF "a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants." -------- "CAIR leader convicted on terror charges - Founding board member of Texas chapter funded Hamas," By Art Moore,
* Bassem Khafagi : This is not the first time that CAIR has had its officers arrested for Islamist-terror related crimes; Mr. Bassem Khafagi, CAIRs director of community relations was arrested this past January [2003] and Mr. Siraj Wahhaj, CAIR Advisory Board member has been named as one of the unindicted persons who may be alleged as co-conspirators in a plot to blow up monuments in New York City several years ago.
Once again, CAIR has been embarrassed by links between its senior leadership and terrorism. How long must we wait until the federal government takes those steps necessary to investigate CAIR as a terrorist sponsoring organization? ------------"Former CAIR Officer Indicted," by staff, Anti-Cair-Net.org via Frontpagemag.com, July 4, 2003
* Randall "Ismail" Royer : Other CAIR figures convicted of terror-related crimes include Randall Todd "Ismail" Royer, a former communications specialist and civil-rights coordinator ...Royer was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges he trained in Virginia for holy war against the United States and sent several members to Pakistan to join Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Kashmiri terrorist group with reported ties to al-Qaida. ------- "CAIR & terrorism: Joseph Farah on Hamas 'front group' posing as civil-rights organization," Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily.com, April 18, 2005
Interestingly, Mr. [Randall Todd ] Royer [of VA Jihad / Paintball Cell / Antiwar.com fame] appears to have served for some time with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as both a communications specialist and a civil rights coordinator, involved at times with various media affairs for CAIR. This fact was reported by terrorism expert and author Daniel Pipes the day of the initial arrests, but has received little attention in the mainstream media. A review of CAIRs national website revealed no mention in their news brief or news release sections covering these latest developments in the case. CAIR has been an outspoken institutional critic of many aspects of the Governments counter-terrorism efforts; interesting that it now remains silent concerning Mr. Royer and his band of paintballers. ------Source : Bill West retired as the Chief of the National Security Section for the INS in Miami, Florida and is now a consultant for the Investigative Project, a Washington DC-based counterterrorism research institute.
* Siraj Wahhaj :This is not the first time that CAIR has had its officers arrested for Islamist-terror related crimes; Mr. Bassem Khafagi, CAIRs director of community relations was arrested this past January [2003] and Mr. Siraj Wahhaj, CAIR Advisory Board member has been named as one of the unindicted persons who may be alleged as co-conspirators in a plot to blow up monuments in New York City several years ago.
Once again, CAIR has been embarrassed by links between its senior leadership and terrorism. How long must we wait until the federal government takes those steps necessary to investigate CAIR as a terrorist sponsoring organization? ------------"Former CAIR Officer Indicted," by staff, Anti-Cair-Net.org via Frontpagemag.com, July 4, 2003, [Visit A-Cair at Anti-Cair-Net.org]
Thats exactly how I felt on 9-11, when I was given 3000 reasons to tell this skank to go to hell.
If they don't like it here, they are certainly free to move to the Islamic 'hellhole' of their choice.
In January 2006, CAIR joined a lawsuit against the National Security Agency demanding that the U.S. intelligence agency cease monitoring communications with suspected Islamist terrorists. Part of its complaints concerned a belief that the U.S. government monitored its [CAIR's] communications with Rabih Haddad, the suspected Al-Qaeda financier who has since moved to Lebanon.[54] Upon learning that CAIR was a fellow plaintiff in the suit, political writer Christopher Hitchens said, "I was revolted to see who I was in company with. CAIR is a lot to swallow."[55]
2 Comments: 1) Good. 2) What on G-d's green Earth makes those people think that anyone else gives a rat's @ss?
They are loyal only to the "Muslim Nation." They will never have loyalty to any "Infidel" controlled country.
In other news, german american bund angry at us involvement in WWII.
Cry me a river
Let's have a U.N. Resolution for that!
You can't negotiate with animals.
As for what is happening to Lebanon, since they are OK with what Hezbollah did to Israel then Lebanon deserves it.
LOL
Exactly the point. There's nobody who can (or will) live up their word. Who exactly is gonna sit down at the table? Nasrallah is a puppet, and the Lebanese government is a hostage. Iran and Syria can't possibly come forward to agree to anything in this dispute, leaving absolutely nobody who can represent as a can-do diplomat.
And even if an agreement is reached, there's always the problem of Koranites believing lying is a virtue and going back on their word, if it means another chance to eliminate infidels.
bttt
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