The "Anti - - Anti-war" Wave. What Should It Be? What Should It Look Like?
Posted on 02/23/2003 8:53:24 AM PST by Sabertooth
For George W. Bush, it was just another campaign stop. But for Sami Al-Arian, a University of South Florida engineering professor, it was a golden opportunity. When Bush appeared at Tampa’s Strawberry Festival in March 2000, Al-Arian sidled up to the candidate and had his picture taken.
< -snip- > Al-Arian’s politics took on a decidedly darker cast last week when federal agents arrested him at his home in south Florida and charged him with being a top leader of one of the world’s most violent terrorist organizations: Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). < -snip- > Al-Arian certainly didn’t act like a sponsor of suicide bombings. Far from keeping to the shadows, he repeatedly lobbied Congress on civil-liberties issues, made thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to influential members of Congress and renounced violence during appearances on TV talk shows. In June 2001 Al-Arian was invited to a White House briefing for 150 Muslim American activists, at which political director Karl Rove talked about the Bush administration’s "outreach" efforts. A law-enforcement official told NEWSWEEK the Secret Service had flagged Al-Arian as a potential terrorist prior to the event. But White House aides, apparently reluctant to create an incident, let him through anyway. Such access had its advantages. "He always told me the charges were garbage," said Khaled Saffuri, chairman of the Islamic Institute. "When you hear he’s going to the White House, you figure what he’s saying must be true." In fact, federal prosecutors charged last week, Al-Arian carried out his secret terrorist agenda "under the guise of promoting and protecting Arab rights"—making his public profile a critical part of his MO. "It was the perfect cover," said Steven Emerson, a terrorism analyst who has followed Al-Arian for years.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.com ...
What is the point of this exactly?
What do you think this means?
It doesn't look very significant to me, is there something else at work here do you think?
You point to a lack of objectivity by the elite media and I think most here would agree with that...which raises the question why would anybody draw any conclusions from such a long chain of unnamed sources, as told by Newsweek.
That said, we do need some answers from the WH on how this guy could be a WH invite.
1). Get the USA and the western governments to side with islamists in Bosnia and Kosovo and kill Serbian Christians by the thousands! And make sure that they ignore the 800,000 Serbian refugees who fled for their lives to Serbia proper.
2). Get the people of the USA to believe lies about "massacres" of poor innocent muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo... when, in fact, the people killed were soldiers, killed in "fair fight" battles with the legitimate authorities who trying to save their LEGITIMATE govt. from terrorists and drug running thugs!!!!
3). Get the press to AVOID at all costs.... asking questions about whatever happened to ALL those 2000 missing Christian Serbs in Kosovo and who destroyed 120 Serbian Orthodox Christian...that just since the UN took over in 1999.
Yes he was and I beleive the Bush White House was going to refuse him access to a meeting there, then it was found out that he was one of Bonior's staffers and was allowed through.
I could see Baghdad Bonior screeching to his NYT and WashCompost comrades, "racial profiling" if he was refused access to the meeting.
No surprises so far.
I am afraid I still don't see the point of all this.
I am so glad that you posted it!! I am happy that you are "happy to 2b you"...as well!
Plus, I am happy that you are so informed about all this. 8 ^ )
THANKS AGAIN.
The "Anti - - Anti-war" Wave. What Should It Be? What Should It Look Like?
FWI: Those are not my saying, check the "The True Furqan" links in my post #5 for all you ever wanted to know about (the Real) Islam.
Here's a candidate: Suhail Khan.
One day after Bush's inauguration, (Norquist) and Saffuri arranged for Muslim leaders to meet Newt Gingrich and Congressman Tom Davis, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Soon Saffuri began regularly appearing at the White House, accompanying imams and heads of Islamic organizations to discuss the faith-based initiative and concerns about law enforcement persecution of Muslims. Suhail Khan, an administration adviser who helps plan Muslim outreach, once served on the Islamic Institute's board. And at one of his regular Wednesday meetings, according to two witnesses, Norquist announced that he had lobbied to get Khan his White House post.
Franklin Foer - The New RepublicAccording to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, Osama bin Laden's deputy (or boss, depending upon the intelligence report), Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, visited the United States in early 1995 using a forged passport, and raised money for terrorist operations at various U.S. mosques, including the Santa Clara Mosque, a.k.a. Masjid Al-Noor, a.k.a. MCA (Muslim Community Association) of Santa Clara.
The late Mahboob Khan is identified by a 1999 "MCA Newsletter" as the man "whose constant efforts and guidance. . . establish[ed] the Islamic Center" of Santa Clara. A 1999 Islamic Horizons magazine obituary for Mahboob Khan quotes a former secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America as saying that Dr. Khan "was in the forefront in the struggle" of "the Santa Clara mosque." This includes the time period when Zawahiri was staying in Santa Clara and raising money at Khan's mosque.
Khan was the founder of American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice, the group spearheading the boycott of Starbucks in the United States. Incredibly, Khan's son, Suhail Khan, was the Bush White House's Muslim outreach official last year. He is also a current and founding board member of the Islamic Institute, which openly opposes the new FBI rules, lodging protests with Ashcroft.
Debbie Schlussel - World Net DailySuhail Khan was the Bush Administration's outreach official in 2001, at the behest of Grover Norquist. He is also a founding and current board member of Norquist's and Khaled Saffuri's Islamic institute, which has received thousands of dollars in donations from the Holy Land Foundation, a sponsor of hoimicide bombers and their families in Israel.
Coincidentally, I suppose, Sami Al Arian's indictment charges him with raising money for the same purpose.
Also coincidentally, I'm sure, are the links between Sami Al Arian and the Holy Land Foundation…
The brochure warns: "Don't talk to the FBI. The FBI is looking for information to use against you, your family and/or your community." It has been posted on the Internet since 1997 by the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom (NCPPF).
< -snip- >
NCPPF President Sami Al-Arian, a professor at the University of South Florida, sent out an e-mail eight days before the Sept. 11 attacks criticizing President Bush for not dropping the use of secret evidence in terrorist cases. Small wonder: Al-Arian has been a major supporter of terrorist causes. The Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilley exposed some of Al-Arian's activity, and NBC's Dateline aired a video of the NCPPF leader stating, "Let us damn America. Let us damn Israel. Let us damn their allies until death."
Insight obtained a copy of a 1995 letter Al-Arian wrote to raise funds for suicide bombers of the Hamas terrorist group. An FBI translation, in Arabic, discusses a recent suicide bombing: "The movement's financial situation is very difficult, and it cannot fulfill its responsibilities toward the martyrs and prisoners. … The link with the brothers in Hamas is very good and making steady progress. … I call upon you to try to extend true support to the jihad effort in Palestine so that operations such as these can continue."
< -snip- >
The brochure sponsor isn't even Muslim. Rather, the NCPPF is a project of a New York-based outfit called the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizations, founded by New Left activists in the 1960s. It says in its literature that it promotes "political statement, association and due process for immigrants and citizens alike." A closer look, say specialists, shows it to be a support operation for terrorism. The coalition's member organizations include:
< -snip- >
American Muslim Council and the American Muslim Foundation share the same Washington offices and attempt to enter into mainstream dialogue with Christians and Jews. In reality, the groups' key man, former executive director and current board member Abdurahman Alamoudi, publicly proclaimed in October 2000, "We are all supporters of Hamas. … I am also a supporter of Hezbollah."
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which maintains an active media outreach program to promote its own brand of Islam and recently was cited for solicitation of funds for the Holy Land Foundation, officially cited as a Hamas front.
Muslim Public Affairs Council, a public-policy lobby allied with AMC and CAIR, wrote letters to the U.S. government on behalf of the Holy Land Foundation.
< -snip- >
Even as the Muslim fronts met with the FBI they were raising money for a group that U.S. officials call a major source of cash for Hamas suicide bombers. The AMC has been a tireless supporter of the Holy Land Foundation. So has the CAIR, whose home page prominently featured an icon called "How to Aid Victims of Terrorism." A click on the icon took the viewer straight to the online donation page of the Holy Land Foundation. That icon remained on the CAIR home page until Dec. 4, when federal agents raided HLF offices around the country and impounded its bank accounts. CAIR issued a statement denouncing the U.S. action, but curiously deleted the HLF fund-raising device from its home page at the same time. "The only specific accusation made against HLF has been that among the thousands of Palestinians who received its relief aid were the children of suicide bombers," claimed CAIR.
J. Michael Waller - Insight MagazineThe American Muslim Council, the Council on American Islamic Relations, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council, part of a web of Muslim organizations (like Al Arian's National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom) who are sympathizers and supporters of terrorism, have all been guests of the Bush White House. The American Muslim Council as recently as January, 2003.
Of course, the American Muslim Council has some friends here and there. On July 22nd, 2000, and the AMC's national convention in Washington D.C., an event was held called "Reception with Members of Congress," which included a number of high profile players in Washington…
The reception particularly honored Representatives Tom Davis (R-VA) and John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Grover Norquist (President, American for Tax Reform), and James Zogby (President, Arab American Institute). A number of Representatives , most of whom have already co-sponsored H.R. 2121, addressed the Muslim audience. Each Member of Congress spoke out against secret evidence, reaffirming their commitment to civil rights, defending justice. All urged the Muslim community to take on a more active role in the political process. Of those in attendance who had not yet co-sponsored the legislation, Congresswoman Connie Morella (R-MD), announced that she "plans to" support the Secret Evidence Repeal Act. In a dramatic demonstration of the impact of Muslim lobbying and the activities of that day, the House of Representatives voted that same evening to cut funding from the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the prisoners currently being held on secret evidence. Amendment 19, offered by Representative Tom Campbell (R-CA), deducted $173,480 from H.R. 4690, the Commerce Justice State and Judiciary Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2001, which appropriates funds for the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Prisons
American Muslim Council - 9th Annual National Convention ReportIn yet another coincidence, Grover Norquist is a recipient of an award from Al Arian's NCPPF…
On April 5, 2001, the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom, a far-left group headed by Al-Arian, gave Norquist an award for his work in opposing the use of secret evidence. Norquist told Insight last year that he was "proud" of the award, even though the Coalition was affiliated with the National Lawyer's Guild, a former Soviet-era front organization.
Kenneth R. Timmerman- Insight MagazineIn addition to outlining the secret evidence and material support cases, and the impact NCPPF has had on these, a written summary of the coalition’s past year also included information on an April 5 awards ceremony at which the "champions of the abolishment against secret evidence" were honored. Mazen Al-Najjar, Nasser Ahmed, Hany Kiareldeen, Anwar Haddam, Dr. Ali and Mohammad Karim, and Harpal Singh Cheema (in abstentia) received awards for enduring the pain of imprisonment while fighting against the use of secret evidence. Congressman David Bonior (D-MI) and former Congressman Tom Campbell (R-CA) were honored for their efforts in trying to repeal secret evidence. Many lawyers received plaques as well. Greg Nojeim of the ACLU, filmmaker Hazim Bitar, and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform received awards for their assistance.
Kristin Szremski - Washington Report on Middle East AffairsSo, Norquist received a plaque from Sami Al Arian's NCPPF, for his assisstance in efforts to abolish the use of secret evidence in fighting terrorism. Is this guy a stooge, or what?
Interesting, too, that former California GOP Congressman Tom Campbell's name comes up again… and again, in defense of Al Arian just last year:
Dr. Judy Genshaft
President
Univesity of South Florida
Tampa, FL
January 21, 2002Dear President Genshaft:
I am a Professor at Stanford Law School, and formerly, for nine years, a Member of the House of Representatives. The views expressed in this letter are my own alone, of course, and not necessarily those of either institution. During my time in Congress, I served, inter alia, on the International Relations Committee and the Judiciary Committee. In those capacities, I came to know of the practice of using secret evidence against non-citizens in keeping them in detention even when they were not a security risk to the United States, and even when they were not soon to be deported. I introduced legislation to stop this practice, and worked hard to achieve that end. In this effort, I came to know Professor Sami Al-Arian, whose brother-in-law had been subjected to this practice.
In the interest of full disclosure, I wish you to know that, after we came to know each other, Professor Al-Arian helped me raise funds for my campaign for U.S. Senate, an effort which, nevertheless, did not succeed.
< -snip- >
Throughout my acquaintance with Professor Al-Arian, he staunchly supported the principles of the United States Constitution. Indeed, it was for the sake of those principles that he and I both opposed the practice of keeping anyone in America in jail on the basis of evidence they were not allowed to see. Every federal court that has ruled on the practice has called it unconstitutional, yet no case has risen to the U.S. Supreme Court; hence, the practice continues.
< -snip- >
In taking part in this fight to uphold the most important principles of our republic and its Constitution, I never heard Professor Al-Arian utter a single word disloyal to the United States. Nor did I ever hear him say anything anti-Semitic, or racist, or religionist, against any group. He did express the wish that America's foreign policy in the Middle East would tilt less discernibly toward Israel. Whatever you or I might think of that view, it is one to which Professor Al-Arian is entitled, well within the scope of free debate in our country.
< -snip- >
The greatest strength we have, as Americans, and especially as academics, is our freedom to speak?including the freedom to speak unpopular views. This right is stressed most severe ly during periods of national emergency. It is precisely then that all who love our country and its freedoms must be most vigilant. What a tremendous victory it would be for those freedoms, for the reputation for fairness of your University, and for our country, if you could reconsider your decision regarding Professor Al-Arian! Such an action now would show the academy at its best: a willingness to reconsider, rather than an instinct to unite behind an initial decision that proved to be ill advised. I respectfully urge you to consider taking just such an action. And I thank you for the time you have given to my letter.
Respectfully,
Tom Campbell
Tom Campbell - Letter of Support for Sami al ArianAnd Tom Campbell brings us full circle back to…
Coincidences?Suhail A. Khan
Suhail Khan was born in Boulder, Colorado and grew up in California.
His father, the late Dr. Mahboob Khan, and mother, Mrs. Malika Khan, emigrated to the United States from Madras, India in the mid-sixties. Suhail received his BA in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991 and JD from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1995. Suhail served as an advisor and press secretary to U.S. Congressman Tom Campbell (R-CA) on Capitol Hill for five years, served in the White House Office of Public Liaison and currently serves as a Presidential appointee as Legal Counsel at the Department of Transportation.
Suhail Khan bio - Arab American National Student Conference press release
*BZZZZZZ* WRONG!
Correct, I was wrong.
OTH, Newsweek has it now. The Washington Post has had it for a couple of days. Drudge has the WP and Newsweek articles featured high as we sit here. This story isn't going away. I stand by that.
Must gall them that even the DNC ignored them.
Not at all. It doesn't even bother me that misguided people who think they're helping President Bush are trying to get this swept under the rug.
Unlike them, for me, this isn't about personality conflicts. That's why I wasn't suspended from posting Friday night.
Instead, I've been trying to find out and post as many facts and sourced links about this story as possible. The ad hominem is so tacky, don't you think?
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