Seizing Iranian Assets

With Iran testing new missile systems and showing no signs of backing off its nuclear weapon program, the prospect of economic sanctions increases. But some actions are already being taken. Over the weekend the Wall Street Journal reported that the Treasury Department has frozen more than $2 billion allegedly held on behalf of Iran in Citigroup accounts in the United States. This seizure, although executed in secret over a year ago, comes on the heels of the recent Alavi Foundation seizures. Together, these actions show a renewed effort on the part of the U.S. government to cut off financial support and resources to the Iranian regime.

Terror Trading?

An unconfirmed report published by Muslim news portal, IslamOnline, suggests that the five Americans currently being detained by the Pakistani government on suspicion of terrorist ties will not be released unless the United States government is willing to negotiate a prisoner swap.

In the article, an unnamed Senior Foreign Office official in Pakistan is quoted as saying "we have sent a proposal to the President and the Prime Minister not to deport the detained US nationals unilaterally." Under the proposal by the Foreign Office, the five Americans would be exchanged for four individuals of Pakistani descent currently being held at Guantanamo Bay.

Among the names mentioned in the proposal are Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, Saifullah and Uzair Piracha, and Majid Khan. Each of these individuals is currently being held by the United States government for their connections to the Taliban and Al Qaida. While all of them provided financial and logistical support to these terrorist groups, Siddiqui went a step further – boldly attacking a group of U.S. servicemen with an assault rifle while in custody.

If this report is true it severely undercuts Pakistan's claims to be a partner against terrorism.

Illinois Prison May House Guantanamo Inmates

The Washington Post reports that the Obama Administration intends to acquire a virtually unused Illinois state prison called the Thomson Correctional Center, about 150 miles west of Chicago, to house federal prisoners and some post-9/11 terrorist detainees currently housed at the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo). The Administration essentially announced this decision in a letter dated today to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn detailing the decision and explaining the reasons behind it. The letter, signed by Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Gates, Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano, Attorney General Holder and Director of National Intelligence Blair, attempts to provide assurances that Gitmo detainees will not be released into American communities and that necessary security enhancements to the Thomson facility and the surrounding community will be provided.

Curiously, a paragraph in the letter states the following:

Current law effectively bars the release of the Guantanamo detainees on U.S. soil, and the Federal Government has broad authority under current law to detain individuals during removal proceedings and pending the execution of final removal orders.

The references in this letter to removal proceedings, and detention authority under such proceedings, combined with DHS Secretary Napolitano's recent comments before the Senate Judiciary committee about possible Gitmo detainee deportation from the U.S. if acquitted in their civilian trials, clearly indicate the Administration considers the possibility of judicial orders requiring the release of Gitmo detainees brought into the US to be very real.

Notwithstanding the assurances touted in the letter to Governor Quinn, as we stated in a previous post, if any Gitmo detainees do ultimately find themselves in removal proceedings within the United States, they will be afforded a wide array of legal defense options, including generous appellate rights into the federal court system all the way to the Supreme Court. Those rights include issues related to detention. While the Executive Branch of the federal government enjoys significant authority in such proceedings, including detention authority, courts can override. Despite expressions of confidence, there are no certainties in this endeavor.

Time to Review Extremist Leadership in DOD Chaplaincy Program

Last Tuesday, the FBI announced the launch of an independent investigation into the shooting at Fort Hood. FBI Director Robert Mueller selected former FBI Director Judge William H. Webster to conduct a review of "FBI policies, practices, and action" prior to the events at Fort Hood.

As suggested in a recent blog post by Margaret Hemenway, the investigation should also review the policies of the Department of Defense's Muslim Chaplaincy Program. Hemenway, who served as a White House appointee for The Department of Defense (DOD) and NASA under President George W. Bush, points to a 2004 DOD investigation which recommended that the DOD or DOJ should include a background check of an individual's affiliations with religious organizations and their endorsing agents as part of the vetting process.

More rigorous vetting requirements seem like a pretty good idea considering the history of extremist leaders in the program. Hemenway references an October 2003 Senate hearing which detailed the connections between radical Islamists and the Muslim Chaplaincy Program.

Abduraham Alamoudi, an individual with links to al Qaeda and Hamas, established the Muslim Chaplaincy Program. In 2004, Alamoudi pled guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by traveling and engaging in dealing with Libya, making false statements in his naturalization application, and a tax offense involving a long-term scheme to conceal his financial transactions with Libya and his foreign bank accounts from the IRS. Alamoudi acknowledged that he was involved with two al Qaeda-linked agents in a colorful plot manufactured by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to assassinate then-Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

Shortly after Alamoudi began serving his 23-year prison sentence the U.S. Treasury Department announced that Alamoudi had raised approximately $1 million dollars for the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA) Foundation in the United Kingdom- an organization tied to al Qaeda. Authorities at the Treasury Department noted that Alamoudi's arrest "was a severe blow to al Qaeda, as Alamoudi had a close relationship with al Qaeda and had raised money for al Qaeda in the United States."

Alamoudi is also linked to Hamas. According to IRS filings for the organization, Alamoudi served as a director for the United Association for Studies and Research (UASR) from 1994 until 1998. UASR was co-founded by Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook and Hamas operative Muhammad Salah has referred to the UASR as "the political command" of Hamas in the United States.

After Alamoudi was sent to jail, Ingrid Mattson, the President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) became responsible for credentialing Muslim chaplains. ISNA's roots are in the Muslim Brotherhood, whose goal in the United States according to a 1991 Brotherhood memo by Mohamed Akram Adlouni is "a grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house." ISNA was explicitly listed in the memo on a "list of our organizations and the organizations of our friends." The memo was submitted as evidence in the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) Hamas financing trial. ISNA was named as an un-indicted coconspirator in trial, which resulted in guilty verdicts in 2008 on all 108 counts against HLF and five of its former officials.

Even Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan himself reportedly served as the de-facto Chaplain at Fort Hood when the previous chaplain was transferred to another base. Before he left Fort Hood, Chaplain Khallid Shabazz interviewed Hasan to lead the Islamic services at Fort Hood in his absence. Shabazz said that he felt confident that Hasan "was the right person for the job."

Hemenway concludes that in the wake of Fort Hood, the Defense Department needs to "overhaul the military's Muslim chaplain and outreach program to eliminate ties to terrorist groups, terrorist sympathizes and the intellectual enablers of jihad."

A Prescription for Combating Radicalism

With five American Muslims in Pakistani custody after a failed attempt to join the jihad against American soldiers, Islamist organizations are promising new campaigns to combat radical ideology in their midst.

Given their stubborn refusal to acknowledge the problem as it developed, expectations for this effort may be best kept in check. Count Zuhdi Jasser, founder and chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) among the skeptics. In a new column, Jasser calls the pledge a promising sign, but notes it must be taken in context:

"As with alcoholics and drug addicts, admitting that there is a problem is the first step down the path of recovery and reformation. But the cynic and realist in me sees these announcements for what they are: recognition by these groups that their post 9/11 apologetic messaging is not resonating with the general public. To solve the problem, they adapted their messages to co-opt the rhetoric of curbing radicalization.

Just last month, both of these groups were out front in their efforts to decouple faith from the obvious Islamist radicalization of Maj. Nidal Hasan, the perpetrator of the Fort Hood massacre. In October they both were also quick to defame the FBI in the shooting death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah of Detroit, who openly called for an establishment of an Islamic State and opened fire on agents who were coming to arrest him under criminal charges."

Jasser, a physician, offers his own prescription for the problem. It starts with a denunciation of political Islam and its manifestation through groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Muslim Public Affairs Council. Jasser is a devout Muslim whose zeal focuses on the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment and keeping his faith separate from the rules governing society.

This puts him at odds with those national Islamist organizations. He has shown a willingness to debate those who disagree with him but that rarely is reciprocated. And that's telling.

"Until Muslims can reform our ideas against the growing power of the Islamist movement," Jasser warns, "homegrown terror will only increase."

New Details Emerge about Lashkar's Chicago Connections

In urging a federal judge to detain terrorism suspect Tahawwur Hussain Rana, new details have emerged surrounding Rana's role and knowledge of the deadly Mumbai terrorist attacks last year. Rana is charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists in connection with those attacks.

A motion filed by federal prosecutors in Chicago rebuts Rana's claims of non-violence and reveals his support for the Lashkar-e-Taiba attacks which took the lives of 170 people. In fact, portions of recordings released by the government demonstrate not only that Rana offered compliments and congratulations to those who carried out the attacks, but that he knew of the planned massacre in advance.

On September 7, 2009, Rana and a co-conspirator, David Headley discussed the Mumbai attacks. Headley is accused of helping scout the terrorists' targets. From the recording:

Headley: When Pashma met you in Dubai [and] told you this was about to happen—this one, after that when you landed in America, how did you find out about it?

Rana: I was in the air.

Headley: How did you find out about it in the air –

Rana: Yea

Headley: - was it coming in writing there.

Rana: I was in the air and [ui] I went to –

Headley: Yea

Rana: I went from Dubai to China – was supposed to board the plane for America – this has started

Headley: In Mumbai, yea

Rana: Yeah.

According to prosecutors, this conversation demonstrates that Rana had prior knowledge of the Mumbai attacks.

In addition, moments before the discussion about Rana's advance knowledge of the attacks, he was heard on the tape praising the terrorists responsible for the massacre. After Headley confirmed he had been in contact with the LeT member who undertook the attack, Rana stated "pass along a message for me," and continued that "in the world, if there had been…a medal for command, top class."

An Old Hand for New Iranian Sanctions

The Obama Administration is gearing up for new economic sanctions on Iran, having concluded its diplomatic efforts failed, Newsweek reports.

The story by Michael Hirsh and Michael Isikoff focuses on the anticipated role for Treasury Under Secretary Stewart Levey, described as "Obama's Enforcer." After Secretary of State Robert Gates, Levey is the highest ranking official from the Bush Administration still serving the President. That, Newsweek reports, is because:

"Levey is feared and hated in Tehran, where 'all the officials know how to pronounce his name right,' says a European diplomat who follows Iranian affairs for his government. (It rhymes with 'heavy.')"

The sanctions are expected to expect to target assets and fronts for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the regime's enforcement arm especially active in suppressing opposition following June's disputed elections. The guard represents "the face of repression," and it owns billions of dollars in shares in Iranian telecommunications and other assets in the country's business and energy sector.

"The IRGC is taking over larger swaths of the Iranian economy, pushing out other businesses and getting preferential treatment in terms of no-bid contracts—thereby being potentially resented by the rest of the population in Iran," Levey told Newsweek.

The U.S. aims to pressure companies doing business with those firms and threaten to sanction them if they don't cut their ties.

According to the magazine, "Levey says he wants to make the foreign firms understand that 'if they're dealing with Iran it's nearly impossible to protect themselves from being entangled in that country's illicit conduct.'"

Check out the entire story here.

Domestic Terror Plotter Gets 17 years

Leaders of national Islamist organizations are calling last week's arrest in Pakistan of five D.C.-area college students who wanted to join the jihad "a wakeup call."

In federal court in Atlanta Monday was evidence of how those same organizations have been hitting the snooze button for too long.

A judge sentenced Eshanu Sadequee to 17 years in prison Monday for his role in a conspiracy to help the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The conspiracy linked with a Toronto cell that was plotting domestic attacks in Canada. Sadequee and fellow defendant Haris Ahmed videotaped their own scouting trips for targets in Washington, D.C. According to the Justice Department:

"While in Canada, Sadequee and his co-conspirators discussed their plans to travel to Pakistan in an effort to attend a paramilitary training camp operated by a terrorist organization, such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET), as preparation for engaging in violent jihad abroad or in the United States. They also discussed potential targets for terrorist attacks in the United States."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that U.S. District Judge Bill Duffey "scolded Sadequee for never expressing remorse for any of his actions. His case, the judge said, provided 'not just a glimpse into the dark side' of terrorism, but 'a full portrait.'"

Friends and families had urged leniency, saying he has grown sick in prison and that he was a young man speaking brashly about terror plots. Sadequee, acting as his own attorney, didn't help his cause when he referred to the American justice system as the ant—Christ.

Law enforcement officials say Sadequee and Ahmed may have been close to acting on their plans. Later Monday, Ahmed was sentenced to 13 years in prison, with Judge Duffey saying "While there was no attack in this case, it's because you were stopped. You are just one of many threats that face our country."

Memo to Louay Safi: We're not Bashing Muslims, We're Bashing You

Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Leadership Center Director Louay Safi smeared Investigative Project on Terrorism Executive Director Steven Emerson and others last week in an article in which Safi, ironically, complained of being the victim of a smear.

Safi generated unwelcome scrutiny when it was disclosed he visited Fort Hood to instruct soldiers about Islam not long after the massacre of soldiers there. We hadn't mentioned Safi's work at Fort Hood when his article was published. We understand the concern expressed by others, however. ISNA has documented ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and serves as a magnet for extremists.

Critics, Safi said in response, were tossing around "a set of fictitious affiliations and unfounded accusations." Only they aren't critics. Those who criticize ISNA or Safi are "Muslim bashers." Safi invokes the phrase five times in a 1,100-word article. He also called the IPT "a shadowy investigative operation, whose investigative tools include guilt by association, innuendo, and half truths."

Naturally, we disagree and will do more than just offer up vague accusations which go unsubstantiated as Safi did. First, about the IPT, Newsweek this week cited our work and called us "an American group that monitors Islamic extremism." Former National Security Council Counter Terror Advisor Richard Clarke wrote in his best seller Your Government Failed You that "Steven Emerson's Investigative Project on Terrorism, a not-for-profit research group, repeatedly told me things about terrorists on the web and terrorists in the United States that neither the CIA nor the FBI knew. Often he was right."

As we did with the Council on American-Islamic Relations' recent attempt to hide beneath a false veneer of victimization, we want to respond to some of Safi's accusations with specific, documented facts from the public record.

Safi's claims are in italics. Each link goes to the evidence to substantiate our claim.

· "McCarthy cited a statement by Emerson in which the latter urged the FBI to sever contacts with ISNA because it has been mentioned in a sealed affidavit as an 'unindicted coconspirator.'"

It is not a sealed affidavit and never was. It was filed openly with the court. You can see it here. ISNA is listed in section dedicated to "individuals/entities who are and/or were members of the US Muslim Brotherhood."

That's the assessment of federal prosecutors based on evidence in the Hamas-support trial of the Holy Land Foundation. Its leaders were convicted of routing millions of charity money to the terrorist group. ISNA and CAIR petitioned the court to be removed from the list, but that was rejected.

Among the arguments offered by prosecutors in defending ISNA's inclusion:

"During the early years of the HLF's operation, HLF raised money and supported HAMAS through a bank account it held with ISNA and NAIT (the North American Islamic Trust) ... Indeed, HLF (under its former name, OLF) operated from within ISNA, in Plainfield. Indiana, where Defendant and [HLF director] Shukri Baker was employed ... ISNA checks deposited into the ISNA/NAIT account for the HLF were often made payable to "the Palestinian Mujahadeen." The original name for the HAMAS military wing ... From that ISNA/NAIT account, the HLF sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to HAMAS leader Mousa Abu Marzook; Nadia Elashi (defendant Ghassan Elashi's cousin and Marzook's wife), Sheikh Ahmed Yassin's Islamic Center of Gaza, the Islamic University, and a number of other individuals associated with HAMAS.

In short, evidence introduced during the course of a public trial demonstrates that ISNA and NAIT are indeed co-conspirators/joint venturers, and no relief that the Court can grant would alter the state of the record in that regard."

· "Spencer and his ilk in the Muslim bashing industry, including Steve Emerson, does not explain how he could appropriate the fantasy of an unknown author to assert that ISNA is an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood."

Safi refers to this document, an explanatory memorandum by a Muslim Brotherhood member who sees the movement waging "a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands..."

It's not clear what makes the memo a fantasy beyond Safi's insistence. Federal investigators found it in the home of Ismael Elbarasse during a 2004 search. Elbarasse was a founder of the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Va. and a member of the Palestine Committee, created by the Muslim Brotherhood to support Hamas in the U.S. (The "unknown author" Mohamed Akram Adlouni appears just below Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook on the Palestine Committee's telephone list. Elbarasse is listed sixth. See for yourself here.)

Safi, meanwhile, has worked with one of the Hamas support arms Marzook created in addition to working for a Virginia think tank suspected of financing terrorists. That think tank helped underwrite a similar operation in Florida run by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) board member Sami Al-Arian. Al-Arian spent years insisting he had no connection to the PIJ, yet Safi had the foresight to ask in 1995 whether an executive order prohibiting dealings with the PIJ would affect him.

Safi would rather you not know this. He can argue with its significance, but not its accuracy. He also can call people names.

ABC News: "The road to terror starts in Pakistan"

ABC's Brian Ross obtained a copy of the Pakistani police report on the five D.C.-area Muslim men picked up there while apparently trying to make their way to fight American soldiers in Afghanistan. The FBI is trying to determine "who exactly directed these men and how, in hopes that other Americans who might be in the same jihad stream can be detected," Ross reports.

See his report, including photographs of the five men, here.

**Update 1:10 pm

CNN has a copy of the Pakistani interrogation report here.

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