From today's DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) e-mail... Tearing at the GOP FabricWhat is most awe-inspiring about the Jack Abramoff saga is the extent to which every moldy rock that is lifted seems to send a thousand vermin scattering, revealing more and more about the shady circles in which Abramoff and his friends ran. The indictment of Abramoff in Miami involved a rather obscure situation insofar as Abramoff's shenanigans are concerned, and yet media scrutiny has quickly turned up an entire web of connections. One such connection led to this revelation from Kate Cambor, who writes on Abramoff's lobbying for the General Council for Islamic Banks, chaired by Saudi billionaire Saleh Abdullah Kamel...
Jack and SalehTPMCafe - August 17, 2005
"You see, Kamel is also the chairman of Dallah al Baraka Group (DBG), which is suspected of having ties to al Qaeda and other extremist groups, and he was also the co-founder and large shareholder of Al Shamal Bank in Sudan, Osama bin Laden's bank of choice from 1983 onward. He was listed as being one of the seven 'main individual sponsors of terrorism' in this report by French researcher Jean-Charles Brisard submitted to the UN Security Council in December 2002. (You might remember that Omar al-Bayoumi, who befriended and provided money to two of the 9/11 hijackers, was once an assistant to the Director of Finance for Dallah Avco, a DBG company that works with the Saudi aviation authority. And the WSJ has reported that the United States believes the Dallah al-Baraka Bank, another DBG company, was also used by al-Qaeda.)
"Kamel's name also appeared in the 'Golden Chain,' a roster seized by Bosnian authorities in Sarajevo in March 2002 listing Saudi donors to bin Laden and his associates; and he was named as a defendant in two Sept. 11th related lawsuits: one filed by the victims' families in 2003 and another filed by Cantor Fitzgerald in September 2004 (Although claims of two plaintiffs from the first suit were dismissed, the same claims from other plaintiffs have yet to be.)"
These revelations are all relatively staggering on their own merits, but what makes them all the more interesting is the way in which they fit into a little noticed but bitter feud on the right. Grover Norquist, a key member of DeLay, Inc. (specifically Abramoff's Indian casino racket) and perhaps the top White House ally in the conservative advocacy machine, suffered a vicious attack two years ago from Frank Gaffney, an Assistant Secretary of Defense under Reagan and a key foreign policy think-tanker on the conservative side. In a shocking piece entitled
"A Troubling Influence," Gaffney cited Norquists ties to a certain Islamic group and accused Norquist of being part of a "radical Fifth Column" trying to undermine America form within on behalf of "Islamofascism."
The feud seemed to have died down, but even before the revelations of Abramoff's lobbying for the General Council for Islamic Banks, it was just heating back up. Citing a New Yorker article which marvels somewhat at Norquist's power and organization, Gaffney concludes that it can only be part of
some leftist conspiracy:
"An alternative explanation for the New Yorker's puff piece about Norquist is more sinister. In recent years, the influence he exercises within what he calls center-right circles has proven very valuable to assorted causes embraced by the left - and anathema to the majority of conservatives. In his online interview, author Cassidy also spoke of this agenda: 'The Democrats need to do a better job of exploiting the divisions and potential divisions within the Republican coalition.'
"And who better to help in exploiting such divisions than the right's purported 'ringleader'? For instance, Norquist champions an extreme libertarian view about illegal immigration - essentially advocating open borders without regard for the associated security, financial or social implications. He makes no secret of his contempt for conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly who rightly disagree. He told the New Yorker, 'I think Phyllis's theory is: Foreigners suck.'
"Norquist is also a prominent advocate for the prohibition of the use of secret evidence, a tool U.S. law enforcement authorities have relied upon to deport dangerous aliens without compromising sensitive intelligence sources and methods. His contribution to the left's campaign against secret evidence - which, but for 9-11 would have resulted in president Bush's disallowing its utilization in deportation proceedings - earned Norquist an award in 2001 from one of the most radical left-wing organizations in America, the National Coalition for the Protection of Political Freedom.
"Norquist has also lent conservative political cover to the left's effort to undermine the USA Patriot Act. His advocacy and lobbying has helped fracture the movement and encouraged Republican legislators to break with President Bush on re-enacting the most important of his domestic counterterrorism initiatives.
.....
"As the Soviets used to say, 'This is not an accident, comrade.' Starting in 1998, Norquist put his considerable political skills in the service of such Islamists as Abdurahman Alamoudi and Sami al-Arian.....
We'll leave the "fifth column" accusations to the Republicans and leave alone the question of whether Gaffney has any idea what he is talking about. We only hope that Mr. Gaffney's head does not explode if or when he finds out what Norquist's partner Abramoff was up to in the year after 9/11.
end e-mail
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