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Writers Articles And Opinions |
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11 November 2010 By Stephen
Lendman
More than ever today, Muslims are
public enemy number one. Post-9/11, they've been
ruthlessly vilified and persecuted for their faith,
ethnicity, prominence and activism. As a result,
innocent men and women have been spuriously called
terrorists, or charged with conspiracy to provide them
material support.
No wonder as an earlier article
explained. They've been unfairly portrayed as
culturally inferior, dirty, lecherous, untrustworthy,
religiously fanatical, violent, gun-toting terrorists.
As a result, hundreds have been wrongfully arrested,
charged, convicted and imprisoned, guilty only of
being Muslims in America at the wrong time. Their
treatment represents a clear indictment of US
injustice, targeting innocent victims for political
advantage.
A September 20 Congressional
Research Service (CRS) report titled, "American
Jihadist Terrorism: Combating a Complex Threat"
explains more about America's scheme, naming names,
"plots," and dates to highlight the "threat." It
begins saying:
"Between May 2009 and August 2010
(alone), arrests were made for 19 'homegrown,'
jihadist-inspired terrorist plots by American citizens
or legal permanent residents of the United States."
They were Muslims "susceptible to ideologies
supporting a violent form of jihad, a term willfully
misused. CRS suggests that jihad = violence, "jihadists,"....illegally
supporting, plotting, or directly engaging in violent
terrorist activity."
Post-9/11, CRS cited 40 homegrown
"jihadist" plots, including attacks on America, likely
reflecting Al Qaeda directed schemes, it said.
During America's "war on terror,"
terms like Al Qaeda, outside enemies, jihadists, and
Islamic terrorists are interchangeably used to incite
fear. Recruited by the CIA and Pakistan's ISI, Al
Qaeda or Mujahideen were defenders of Muslim lands
against the 1980s Soviet Afghan occupation. At the
time, Reagan officials called them a "necessary
response" against imperial communism.
In 1998, Zbigniew Brzezinski,
Carter's National Security Advisor, confirmed it in an
interview, saying:
"....CIA aid to the Mujahideen
began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet
army invaded Afghanistan" in late December 1979.
President Carter then "signed the first directive for
secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime
in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the
President in which I explained to him that in my
opinion, this aid was going to induce a Soviet
military intervention."
He explained further that America
had "the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam
War. Indeed for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry
on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict
that brought about the demoralization and finally the
breakup of the Soviet empire."
Key is that Al Qaeda was
Washington's invention. Reagan called them freedom
fighters. Today, under any name, they're "terrorists,"
innocent Americans wrongfully charged with supporting
them, mostly through entrapment stings producing no
evidence besides what paid FBI informants say. It's
their word against suspects, as well as illegally
taped conversations, innocent comments from them made
to sound incriminating.
"How Do People Become Violent
Jihadists," CRS asked? Charismatic "(i)ntermediaries,
social networks, the Internet, and prisons" play key
roles...."
Plots enumerated include:
(1) "Endgames," involving
individuals wanting to become foreign fighters in
conflict zones;
(2) Suicide or Martyrdom" by
violent jihad;
(3) "Success of Lone Wolves,"
unconnected to others; and
(4) "Divergent Capabilities,"
their experience ranging from little to considerable.
CRS also explained how to combat
homegrown "jihad" through counterterrorism, laws like
the USA Patriot Act, domestic intelligence, illegal
surveillance not called that, and working jointly with
state and local authorities, among other ways. It
concluded with a national strategy called a "Whole of
Government Approach," coordinating across departments
and agencies at all levels of government. An appendix
then named names, dates, and "plots."
What the report omits says more
than it offered. It explained nothing about US
imperial wars, state terrorism on a global scale, its
toll in the many millions, besides targeted homeland
victims - innocent men and women, wrongfully targeted
and imprisoned, reports like CRS' suggesting
otherwise.
New Justice
Department (DOJ) Targeted Victims
On November 2, a DOJ press
release headlined "Three California Men Charged with
Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to al Shabaab,"
saying:
"San Diego residents Basaaly
Saeed Moalin, Mohamed Mohamed Mahamud, aka Mohamed
Khadar, and Issa Doreh were charged today with
conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists,
conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign
terrorist organization, conspiracy to kill in a
foreign country, and related offenses...."
An unsealed October 22 indictment
called Al-Shabaab "a violent and brutal militia group
in Somalia." More on them below, a group the State
Department falsely designated a foreign terrorist
organization (FTO) in February 2008.
Charges alleged that Moalin "was
in direct telephone contact with Aden Hashi Ayrow," a
so-called "prominent (Al-Shabaab) military leader....Ayrow
requested money from Moalin, who then coordinated the
fundraising efforts and money transfers with Mohamud
and Doreh."
The indictment also alleged that
Moalin provided a house in Somalia, "knowing (it)
would be used in preparation for, and to carry out, a
conspiracy to kill persons in a foreign country."
He was arrested on October 31,
Mohamud and Doreh on November 1. All pleaded not
guilty. They're being held without bail. Moalin's
lawyer, Marc Geller, said he's seen no evidence that
his client, a local cab driver with no prior record,
had any involvement whatever.
About 50 local community members
appeared in federal court to show support, believing
the three men are innocent. One man, Ali Mohamed, said
Moalin taught weekend classes on Islam at a local
mosque and is considered a leader of the local Somali
community. Apparently it led to his indictment.
"He would tell youngsters to stay
away from drugs and gangs," he said. "It's shocking to
hear this case against him (and the others). I don't
understand why there are people in the street who
commit violence while the people who stay in the
mosques and pray are being attacked."
Edgar Hopida, of San Diego's
Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the
arrests put the local Somali community on edge. His
organization informs them of their rights, ones very
much in jeopardy.
"The Somali community is very
fearful that their community is under attack," Hopida
explained. "The Somalis who have come here are
refugees from a war-torn country and the vast
majority" oppose terrorism. In fact, a US-sponsored
resettlement program arranged for most to come here,
nearly all from the 87,000 community.
Last August, 14 Minnesota,
California and Alabama Muslims were also indicted for
allegedly supporting a "deadly pipeline," sending
money and fighters to Al- Shabaab. Seven from
Minnesota were previously charged.
On November 3, another DOJ press
release headlined, "Two Indicted in Missouri on
Charges of Providing Material Support to a Terrorist
Organization. A Third Defendant is Charged with
Structuring Violations," saying:
"St. Louis resident Mohamud Abdi
Yusuf has been indicted and arrested on four charges
of providing material support to a designated
terrorist organization and one charge of conspiracy to
structure financial transactions....Minneapolis
resident Abdi Mahdi Hussein was also indicted and
arrested on a charge of conspiracy to structure
financial transactions."
The unsealed October 21
indictment alleged that "from February 2009 through at
least July 2009, Yusuf and a third defendant, Duwayne
Mohamed Diriye, a resident of Kenya and Somalia, were
involved in a conspiracy to provide funds to al
Shabaab...."
Other allegations cited "using
fictitious names and telephone numbers to conceal the
nature of their activities. Yusuf is also charged with
conspiring with Abdi Mahdi Hussein, an employee of a
licensed money remitting business (Qaran Financial
Express), to structure financial transactions to avoid
record keeping requirements."
Yusuf was arrested on November 1
in St. Louis, Hussein on November 2 in Minneapolis.
Still at large, Diiriye is thought either to be in
Kenya or Somalia. He's charged with one felony count
each of "conspiracy to provide material support to a
designated foreign terrorist organization and
providing material support to a designated foreign
terrorist organization." These charges are commonly
used when no evidence of any crime exists, likely the
case this time, as well as for the San Diego
suspects.
Charges against Yusuf and Hussein
say they solicited funds within and outside the
Eastern District of Missouri, then arranged for
transfer to Al-Shabaab. Diriye is then alleged to have
arranged their delivery.
Reporting on the case on November
3, AP writers Jim Suhr and Amy Forliti cited Kulane
Darman, president of Qaran Financial Express (QFE),
saying he doesn't know Hussein, and the DOJ
information is incorrect.
QFE is a remittance company for
immigrants or migrants who wish to send money home to
family members. It transmits funds mainly to Somalia,
Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Uganda through offices
in seven states, including Minnesota, home to
America's largest Somali immigrant population,
numbering over 32,000.
A Profile of
Al-Shabaab
An earlier article explained that
on the Horn of Africa, Somalia is strategically
adjacent to the Red Sea, Suez Canal, and vital
commercial waterways. In the north, it also abuts
Sudan, a country rich in oil and gas reserves, coveted
by America, China, India and other nations.
In December 2006,
Washington-backed Ethiopian forces unseated the
governing Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), installing a
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in its place.
Thousands were killed. Over a million became refugees.
Ever since, conflict continued, Al- Shabaab wanting it
freed from foreign invaders, much like the Taliban
struggle in Afghanistan.
In January 2009, Ethiopian forces
withdrew, following an agreement between the TFG and
Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) - a
UIC coalition with other opposition forces. Fighting,
however, continued, America backing the TRG/African
Union Blue Helmets to keep Islamists from regaining
power.
UIC members aren't terrorists
connected to Al Qaeda. They're freedom fighters,
struggling to liberate their country after years of
US-instigated conflict, divisions and instability.
Their ranks include moderate and radical Islamists as
well as politicians and militants, united for a common
cause.
Mogadishu traders initially
established a UIC coalition with opposition elements
to end clan divisions and bring order to the city's
instability. Years of civil war left no stable
government in most parts of the country. Al- Shabaab
and other opposition forces continue the struggle
against the US-installed government, Ethiopian
backers, and African Union force. They also call
themselves the Mjuahideen Youth Movement (MYM).
According to the US National
Counterterrorism Center:
"Since the end of 2006, (Al-Shabaab)
led a violent insurgency, using guerrilla warfare and
terror tactics against the continued Ethiopian
presence in Somalia, the Transitional Federal
Government of Somalia, and (NGOs)."
As a result, on February 29,
2008, the US State Department designated it a Foreign
Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (as amended) and as a
Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Section
1(b) of George Bush's September 23, 2001 Executive
Order 13224 (as amended). It authorized ways to
disrupt financial support for FTOs by blocking assets
of individuals or groups alleged to commit, or pose
risks to commit, terrorist acts.
Like US-funded and backed Afghan
Mujaheddin in the 1980s, Al-Shabaab wants Somalia
freed from the US-backed TFG government and African
Union paramilitaries (AMISOM Blue Helmets). Washington
calls them terrorists, Somali US refugees thus
victimized.
Stephen Lendman lives in
Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished
guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the
Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central
time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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