Talk:Mansoor Ijaz

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Critiques of Ijaz

(Note: be aware of the potential bias. I state it as I view it.)

  • Jaideep E. Menon, "Musawer Mansoor Ijaz - America's Secret Emissary", Bharat Rakshak Monitor, Volume 3(2) September, October 2000 - Bharat Rakshak is a consortium if Indian military related websites, The Monitor was the original online journal, which has now been renamed, "Security Research Review". Site is naturally Indian Nationalistic. Potential bias towards Ijaz could be both pro and con. This article is a well-sourced bio, laced heavily with uppercaste Hindu souls above the rest analysis. Still, it's very interesting, lists many of Ijaz's Clinton era political ties, and alleges much Ijaz political double-dealing intrique.
  • Navtej Sarna, Press Counselor, Embassy of India, Washington, "Facts' about India Just Misinformation", letter to the Washington Times, June 19, 1999 - India's Washington DC embassy's response to a '99 Ijaz Anti-Indian ope/ed hit piece. No sourced offered for this, but I recall that at this time the Indian diplomatic corps was taking hard hits on the homefront for getting the PR snot beat out of them in the foreign press, and there was an intitiative to get their diplomats up to speed with their own op/ed authorship.
  • K. Gomango, "Mansoor Ijaz and His Mission Kashmir-I", Kashmir Sentinel, April 1st--May 31st, 2001 - Kashmir Sentinel is one of the many publications put out by Kasmiri Hindi (Pandit) refugees, who fled the Kasmir Valley in the wake of murderous attacks by Islamic extremists in the early 1990's, largely settling in India's Jammu Province. They feel themselves to be disenfranchised, eventhough they are Indian citizens, and hold militant, anti Pakistani views regarding Kashmir.

I have more data to collate (and maybe find). I pulled a load of Ijaz data right after 911, and it resides in disparate hard drives. Plus I'm a little busy presently, so if anyone feels the urge to source this data into the stub, be my guest. Who knows when i'll focus on it.

cheers --Hugh Manatee 18:54, 24 Feb 2006 (EST)

Conversation with Mansoor Ijaz

I spoke today by phone with Mansoor Ijaz, who actually seemed more reasonable than the individual who has been trying to edit here on his behalf. He says he wasn't aware personally of this dispute until today. He isn't trying to dictate the entire content of the article, and he agrees that it is fair to quote instances where other people such as Sandy Berger have criticized him. However, he says that there are some specific factual errors he would like corrected, and other cases where he would like additional information added for context and balance. We didn't have enough time today to discuss all of his concerns in detail, but after I've had a chance discuss with him further, I'll do some editing to try to address his concerns. --Sheldon Rampton 19:02, 24 Feb 2006 (EST)

Suggestion: If Ijaz or others associated with him disagree on "factual errors" ... and are concerned with "context and balance", maybe Ijaz should have thought about this, say, oh, about ten or more years ago before he said and wrote so many things that are quotable and of interest.
Which brings up other issues not appropriate for this forum, but does raise concern about the SW premise of telling the "truth" ... exactly whose "truth" is SW concerned with now? Ijaz's? That has been under debate for over a decade now, now hasn't it? Verification of Ijaz's words are now well-represented in the SW article. The legitimate opinions of others about Ijaz (or anyone else in the public arena) should never be up for debate at all. Artificial Intelligence 07:51, 25 Feb 2006 (EST)
I don't think he is objecting to being quoted on the things that he has said. However, he says for example that he has never been a lobbyist for Pakistan. It's true that one news article in the Dawn, a Pakistan newspaper, quoted someone who described him as such, but he says that is untrue and that he has never been paid to lobby for Pakistan. As far as "context and balance" are concerned, he points out that he has written commentaries for a number of publications besides Fox News and National Review, such as Newsweek, the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, etc., and he wants a a fuller representation. He has forwarded me copies of a number of things he has written for inclusion in the list. I haven't had time to review them yet, but you'll see them as soon as I have time. --Sheldon Rampton 11:05, 25 Feb 2006 (EST)
One minor quibble with "he says that is untrue and that he has never been paid to lobby for Pakistan." ... paid in cash or paid otherwise? paid is paid, whether monetarily or in other ways ... a fine point, but ....
As for "fuller representation" ... plenty of diversity represented in SW article now .... all supplied "on the house". Artificial Intelligence 11:37, 25 Feb 2006 (EST)
Also recommend anyone who is interested read the whole article at the following link .... which provides a consistent picture of what has been said repeatedly in one way or another by numerous writers: Artificial Intelligence 12:21, 25 Feb 2006 (EST)
And does this sound at all familiar? ... "Ijaz is not registered with the Justice Department as a lobbyist for Sudan and said he has received no compensation from the Khartoum regime. He acknowledged that the congressional ban, as originally devised, would have impinged on his business aspirations in Sudan. But his larger ambition, he said, is to parlay his Democratic connections into a powerful Muslim American lobby with influence on U.S. foreign policy."
My definition of a "lobbyist" is, "someone who is paid to represent the interests of another party." It's clear that Ijaz is an active player on the international scene and a vocal political commentator. The description above suggests to me that he had interests and an "agenda" regarding Sudan but was not its lobbyist. Regarding him being a lobbyist for Pakistan, I've looked at the Dawn article, and it doesn't say that he was paid in cash or with anything else. Ijaz moreover says that he has publicly taken positions opposed to the positions of the government of Pakistan, which I think would definitely make him not a lobbyist. In any case, the fact that one person used this term to describe him is insufficient evidence to establish it as a fact, and all references that I've found to him being a lobbyist for Pakistan seem to stem from this same source. Newspapers often get their facts wrong, and in the absence of other evidence that supports this characterization, I'm inclined to accept his claim on this particular point.
As for "fuller representation," I don't think it hurts (and in fact it helps) this article to include a longer list of things he has written and publications where his commentaries have appeared. You've added quite a bit, but Ijaz has supplied still more citations, which I would think are worth including as well.
Stepping back for a moment and looking at the bigger picture, one of the differences between SourceWatch and Wikipedia is that Wikipedia officially discourages people from contributing to articles about themselves, whereas SourceWatch does not discourage people from doing this. It is entirely legitimate for someone like Mansoor Ijaz to want to participate in contributing to the article about himself, and after all he is in a better position to know facts about himself that many of the rest of us may not know. Of course, this does not mean that he is entitled to simply dictate content or censor criticisms of himself from the article. I think the person who originally attempted to edit this article on his behalf went too far in that direction, and people here are understandably irritated at the way that happened. In my conversation with him, however, Ijaz himself agreed that people who disagree with him are entitled to express their criticisms, and he is not trying to have those critiques eliminated from the article.
Regarding the specific changes that Ijaz is requesting, I think I'm going to ask Bob Burton to review them and decide what changes he thinks are appropriate. I think Bob will have more time than me with which to do a careful job and also to ensure that your concerns are adequately reflected. How does that sound? --Sheldon Rampton 12:34, 25 Feb 2006 (EST)

Sounds like a plan. Artificial Intelligence 13:23, 25 Feb 2006 (EST)

just quick reflections

since i seem to have been a major catalyst of this fervency, with my hard revert, dump onto the talk page and run antics; an habitual cut n run, i'll add a bit here:

  • the fact that Ijaz would actually spend time conversing with Sheldon regarding his stub, is commendable on his part. Although i do not know for sure, i believe he did this without threatening letters mailed upon lawfirm stationary, or engaging in vain and catty editing of his personal data on SW.
  • when i first streamed for Ijaz data in late 2001, it was because i was looking into his Clinton/bin laden claims, and my view of Hinduism has changed substantially since that time:
    • radical Hindis are as evil as all religious fundamentalists, with the possible exception of a very small and insignicficant set of true buddists,
    • right-wing extremist Indian nationalists have stared up orphanages in India, but not for any altruistic reason. Instead, they are boys only, and teach hate for Pakistani, as well as military skills. Canon Fodder for a dark future. An incredibly stupid behavior for persons who believe a price for their life's acts becomes due on their next turn of the wheel.
    • since 911, i have lurked here and there on boards where both Indians and Pakistani's post into the same thread (seems to have been mostly techie ex-pats from both sides), and i have witnessed at times a rabid spitting vehemence towards all Pakistanis from some on the Indian side.

This is why i attempted to state the potential bias witnin the Indian sources i dropped here yesterday.

Also, earlier i did a quick dive into the website, Pakistan Facts, and came up basically empty-handed. My instincts sense fronted or empty-shelled. It seems to be hosted out of Miami by someone licensed with the possible/probable pseudo, Patrica Smith, and is hosted by a small time Houston based ISP/web host. Pakistan Facts doesn't even have its own IP. Beware the swiftboaters, and take their data with a very large grain of salt.

It still doesn't change my belief that Ijaz dissembles often regarding Pakistan, but I see a possibility that he dissembles with some misguided sense of altruism towards his parents' birthland.

It still doesn't change my belief that America's misguided, and self-serving hot 'n cold running Pakistan policies over my entire lifetime has been wrong for a multitude of rationales. It doesn't make be think that the dictator and abrogator of Pakistan's fledging Democracy, Pervez Musharraf is a righteous US ally.

And it doesn't lead me to believe that Pakistan is a staunch ally in the GWOT, or that the al Libby arrested riding a moped from a year or so ago was really Qaeda three.

An Ally? Bloody effing hell, Dubya...they're are a primary cause! but then again, so are many of the Iran/Contra replayers which GW called up into the big leagues again, to pitch their neo-conivving opiated empiric visions to the arrogantly naive American people.

will peace --Hugh Manatee 20:19, 25 Feb 2006 (EST)

Start rewrite

I'm planning on going through the main section of the article in the next 24 hours. Given the time zones differences between Ijaz who is in the UK, me in Australia and other contributors in North America, it would be easiest if there was a temporary freeze on additions to the main body of the article. This would make it easier for me to work through one version rather something that could otherwise be a bit of a moveable feast. Additions of links to the "Transcripts, Interviews, Articles & Commentary with/by Mansoor Ijaz" and Articles & Commentary about Mansoor Ijaz page are fine. Thanks in anticipation. cheers --Bob Burton 05:05, 26 Feb 2006 (EST)

Rewrite, tidy and deletions

Most of the changes I have made to date are relatively minor - mostly shifting the reference to closer proximity to the point it supports (rather than having a group at the end of a paragraph) or making the date of the material cited explicit and adding an update where necessary.

I have removed the following par.

The February 15, 2002, Pakistani daily Dawn stated that Khalid Khawaja, a former Pakistani intelligence officer, said Ijaz was a "lobbyist for Pakistan." However, to date, this statement has been unsubstantiated.

It was a passing uncorroborated comment in an article that shouldn't be given much weight. The word lobbyist itself is not in direct quotes so the context of what exactly was said is ambiguous. Nor is it clear that even if it had been a direct quote whether it was intended as 'lobbyist' as in 'someone who speaks out for' (which could arguable have been what was meant) or 'lobbyist' in the more literal U.S. meaning of the word of 'paid to represent'. Ijaz is emphatic that he has never been hired as a lobbyist. In the absence of any other evidence, it is not enough to leave the statement on the page with the the note that it hasn't been corroborated. That would suggest there was merit to the claim in the original article.

I have also deleted the note "(For online search purposes, note that Ijaz's name is also found spelled in variations of Monsoor/Monsour/Manzur Ijaz/Ejaz.)" This appears to me to have been coveraed in the first sentence. --Bob Burton 22:22, 26 Feb 2006 (EST)

I have relocated this earlier verson of Ijaz's bio note from Benador Associates here. It is a little different from the current version on their website but the essential points have been incorporated into the existing article. Apart from which it sat awkwardly getting to the end of the rest of the profile and then having the whole bio note sitting there. --Bob Burton 22:50, 26 Feb 2006 (EST)

==Earlier version of Benador Assoc. Profiles==
According to his Benador Associates' biography, "Ijaz received his SM degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985 where he trained as a neuro-mechanical engineer in the joint MIT-Harvard Medical School Medical Engineering Medical Physics Program. He received his bachelor's degree Magna Cum Laude from the University of Virginia in 1983, where he majored in Physics. He has applied the extensive modeling experience he gained at MIT to develop Crescent's proprietary currency, interest rate and equity risk management systems, CARAT, TRACK and RMU.
"Ijaz is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves as Foreign Affairs Analyst and Counterterrorism Expert for Fox News Network. Prior to his exclusive contract with Fox News, he appeared frequently on a variety of financial and political news programs for CNN, CNN International, BBC, ABC, NBC, MSNBC and CNBC. He has commented for Public Broadcasting System's Newshour with Jim Lehrer and Nightline with Ted Koppel.
"Ijaz has been featured twice in BARRON'S Currency Roundtable discussions. He has also contributed to the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, The Washington Times, The Christian Science Monitor and the Times of India.
"As a private American citizen, Ijaz negotiated Sudan's counterterrorism offer to the William Jefferson Clinton administration in April 1997 and proposed the framework for a ceasefire of hostilities between Indian security forces and Mujahedeen fighters in Kashmir in August 2000. He regularly meets with the leaders of Islamic countries on matters related to combating terrorism, nuclear proliferation and improving human rights. He also meets regularly with US government officials.
"Ijaz's father, Dr. Mujaddid Ahmed Ijaz (deceased), a prominent American physicist, was an early pioneer in developing the intellectual infrastructure of Pakistan's nuclear program.
"Much of Ijaz's time away from Crescent's daily affairs is spent in designing, funding and implementing projects for people in third-world countries. He has built rural elementary schools dedicated to countering the damaging influences of religious radicalism in his parent's native Pakistan. He has supported the construction and operation of democracy schools in Eastern Europe. And he is presently forming a charitable fund to support women acting as heads of families who have been widowed by the ongoing conflict in Kashmir.
"Ijaz earned All-American weightlifting status while attending the University of Virginia. Born in Florida in 1961 and raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Ijaz lives in New York City today with his family."

Rewrite stage 2

I've started rewriting the Ijaz and Sudan section. Relocating two sections here for the moment.

(There's an interesting side-bar on this on p. 113 of Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.)

I can't see the benefit of having this there unless we indicate what is interesting about what is in the book that is of relevance here. I donlt have the book so don't have the faintest what it is referring to. Same problem I imagine for most other readers.

See findings of 9/11 Commission: Hearing Transcripts for March 23, 2004, and March 24, 2004, re bin Laden/Sudan "handover". Also see Dan Eggen's June 16, 2004, Washington Post article "No Evidence Connecting Iraq to Al Qaeda, 9/11 Panel Says."
Copied to rebuttal section below

At the moment these references are just sitting there and don't seem connected to the text. I'll come back and look at them later but at the moment they are more clutter than useful.--Bob Burton 23:59, 26 Feb 2006 (EST)

I have deleted the section on Ijaz & Pearl -- his role was tangential and I can see why he'd object to the implication. To me it seems peripheral to the point of the profile too.

I have a load more material to digest on the Sudan stuff so I'm going to have to beg for another 48 hours to digest and write up. And allow me time to get some responses to queries to Ijaz and get a few other things done. --Bob Burton 00:48, 27 Feb 2006 (EST)

Rebuttal Info (if SW is still doing that)

In re Sudan - URLs

a deconstruction

An election year hit piece for the National Review:

Mansoor Ijaz, "A Dick Clarke Top Seven: Questions for commissioners", National Review, March 23, 2004

From Question 1

"Did Erwa make an offer, however vague or oblique, to permit the United States to have access to bin Laden in a manner similar to the capture of Carlos the Jackal that Sudan orchestrated with France?"

The deceit in this case being that bin Laden, in February 1996, which was before the embassy bombings in Africa, can be in any way compared to "Carlos The Jackel", who at the time of his capture in 1995 had been indicted by at least, England, France, Austria, Netherlands and Israel. [1]

"How do you assess President Clinton's own view that the administration chose not to bring bin Laden to the United States because there were insufficient legal grounds for doing so?"

A seeming admission by Ijaz that there had not yet been an American indictment against bin Laden. Clinton was right in not apprehending him. It would have been illegal, both domestically and internationally.

As an aside, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who was a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee during the 80's was quoted two years later in a MSNBC article written after the African embassy attacks, in which he answered to a query regarding the propriety of arming and training the Arab Mujahadin in the arts of terror with the intent of fighting the Soviet.

"Indeed, to this day, those involved in the decision to give the Afghan rebels access to a fortune in covert funding and top-level combat weaponry continue to defend that move in the context of the Cold War. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a senior Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee making those decisions, told my colleague Robert Windrem that he would make the same call again today even knowing what bin Laden would do subsequently. 'It was worth it,' he said.
'Those were very important, pivotal matters that played an important role in the downfall of the Soviet Union,' he said.
Michael Moran, "Bin Laden comes home to roost", MSNBC News, August 24, 1998

See also [Brzezinski's] 1997 and 1998 interviews

Where has Ijaz been on these angles?

--Hugh Manatee 19:20, 27 Feb 2006 (EST)

Osama-Saddam

Rewrite 3

I deleted the links to Arcapita, Arcapita Bank and Crescent Consulting from the 'related SourceWatch resources' section as, as far as I can tell, they were only related by either sharing a common part of a name or having Middle east financial involvement. --Bob Burton 23:03, 27 Feb 2006 (EST)

Note need to return to these and add them to a category

Hugh's note

google the terms {"sam sloan" Ijaz}...i believe...it has been a while, but there are two Mansoor Ijazes, the other one is actually a nuclear scientist from Pakistan, not just someone who plays one on Fox news...

yes but multiple people with the same name in the same country is not that uncommon -

and keeping on that line; a recent reference to and quotation of Ijaz on the Middle East Newsline. This is the first time i could recall running into this source, so i did some quick net look-ups, and superficially, it looks dubious. The WHOIS address is a PO Box in Jersusalem, Israel, but the site is hosted on Pennsylvania servers.

  • WHOIS: Steven Rodan, Middle East Newsline, POB 7606. Jerusalem, 91075, IL
  • NETBLOCK Data on IP:Pair Networks, 2403 Sidney St, Suite 510, Pittsburgh, PA., 15232, US

Its would seem that Ijaz has taken his resume bloat to new heights, offshore:

"Expert: Iran has Nuclear Bomb", Middle East Newsline, January 29, 2006
ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Iran was said to have acquired a nuclear bomb.
A leading U.S. nuclear proliferation expert said Teheran obtained an atomic bomb about a decade ago from the nuclear black market. The expert said Iran sought to produce additional nuclear weapons through technology from Pakistan and other countries.
"The one functional device Iran has," Mansoor Ijaz, a U.S. nuclear scientist, said, "is the result of clandestine transfers from Pakistan's rogue black market nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who sold the Iranians antiquated but highly effective Chinese bomb designs and parts, including spherical shell casings, spherical Krytron detonation switches and empirical software testing modules."

Ijaz is a "leading US Proliferation Expert," as well as a "US Nuclear Scientist"? Why wasn't he using his expwertise to help stop "clandestine transfers from Pakistan's rogue black market nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan", when it was real-time then? Why does he choose to out this at a time it can be used as a faux-rationale to Wage war Upon Iran?

Call me old school, but I think that for one to properly deine himself a "Nuclear Scientist" or as Ijaz did on US news shows when he was used as an analyst, "Nuclear Physicist", one should have actually completed an advanced University Physics Degree. This is akin to calling yourself a lawyer after completing law school, but before passing the bar, or an MD before passing your boards. It is deceitful, and it is noteworthy that Ijaz doesn't make that claim domestically anymore.

the critical issue is the difference between self-description and simplified labels developed by journalists.
it is a pattern. this is a man who personally has contacted Sheldon Rampton regarding what he perceives as errors in his Sourcewatch stub. it seem that Mr. Ijaz isn't so hands-on regarding error corrections in other places though. --Hugh Manatee 22:53, 12 Mar 2006 (EST)

Another ref i caught yesterday, was on a recent National Review post of his:

"Mansoor Ijaz is an American Muslim of Pakistani origin"

Doesn't this seem to indicate a person born in Pakistan, who is a naturalized US citizen? As far as I am aware, Ijaz was born in Tallahasee, FLA., 1961, to parents who originated in Pakistan.

Isn't this just the difference between taking a literal interpretation of a description and a broader tagline that describes an identification with his cultural origins without necessarily meaning place of birth?. Think Latino, Pacific Islander, African-American etc
anyway, must go, might add some more tomorrow. --Bob Burton 06:26, 1 Mar 2006 (EST)
once again, it is a pattern, and this one on the National Review's website. The NatReview was founded by the semantical artiste, Billy Buckley. In general American usage the phrase would be better stated: "Muslim-American of Pakistani Descent". I find it hard to believe that the editors of NatRev would error in this fashion, and i find it hard to believe that Ijaz, were he an honest man of honour would leave it uncorrected.

The Scotsman in their Sunday edition published a piece of puffery that looks almost like a straight rip from a Press kit regarding Ijaz's underwater hotel that is being built in Dubai. It mentions the price 377mil pounds, which is over 677mil USD. Keep in mind the current congressional hissy fit regarding Dubai's purchase of a UK based firm which operates multiple US port operations, and Ijaz's recent op/ed in favor of the purchase. Now add in the recent Iran finger pointer using Abdul Qadeer Khan, and the questions by the US Senate today in their Dubai hearings about Abdul Qadeer Khan's use of Dubau's ports to transfer Nuke Tech to mideast destinations. One could imagine many motivations for dissembling here, could they not?

--Hugh Manatee 00:47, 1 Mar 2006 (EST)

Rewrite 4

I'm almost out of time for right now but the main things I've done are:

  • provide an overview of Ijaz's corporate interests; there are a few bits I need to come back to (such as the pars below I have parked here for the moment) but as far as possible I'd like to keep extra details for the respective corporate entities pages rather than make this section more complex;
  • shifted the list if Ijaz's article to a sep page to reduce file size problems;
  • restructured and renamed the section on specific issues Ijaz has been involved in; as part of this I've shifted the Sudan material to a new side page and started to compile a set of the relevant links from Ijaz and others prior to a rewrite and referencing session. (This was partly to reduce the page size but also I think its better with a teaser to the debate and have a separate listing of the Sudan specific links). I suspect that further down the track it will be worth doing the same with the Iraq/Al qaueda claims and links). --Bob Burton 00:56, 1 Mar 2006 (EST)

These are a couple of bits to come back to A 2002 biographical note on Ijaz stated that the company comprised a "series of New York investment partnerships" between Ijaz, Lt. Gen. James Alan Abrahamson (USAF Ret), former director of President Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, Turkey's Global Group, and a "prominent European shipping family." [2] A late 2003 biographical note on Ijaz for Fox News omitted any reference to the "shipping family". [3]

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in New York, with partner offices in London and Washington, the firm "specializes in the use of quantitative modeling techniques to manage investment portfolios." (While in 2002 the company had an office in Ankara, Turkey, this is now closed). Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, Jr. "serves as vice chairman of Crescent's Board of Advisers." [..]

pattern of disemblance to the truth

OK, so this is a bit thin, and everything Ijaz claims here was backed up by other BuShills, but it shows a pattern of unapologetic use of distorted or false data for Bush Cheerleading, the truth notwithstanding. Maybe Ijaz was just a rube, duped by neoconniivers...That would offer quite a bit of illumination on his switch of party affiliation post-2000.

Mansoor Ijaz and Tim Trevan, "Evidence to Justify War is Plentiful", Los Angeles Times, January 28, 2003 (Benador mirror)
"From 1998 to 2001, the Los Angeles Times' Bob Drogin has reported, a private Indian engineering exporter used front companies in Dubai and Jordan to supply Hussein's scientists with 3 metric tons of atomized aluminum powder, a key ingredient for making rocket propellant.
The same company shipped titanium centrifugal pumps and membranes used in constructing chemical weapons through its Middle East shell companies to a major Iraqi chlorine manufacturing plant. Titanium pumps enabled Hussein to churn out chlorine, a precursor chemical for everything from mustard and chlorine gas to blister and nerve agents, at much higher rates than anything Iraq could have hoped to use for civilian purposes. Then, in a blatant example of Hussein's deception and lies, the plant suddenly became "inoperable" in December as the new weapons inspectors came in.
Intelligence sources in the region indicate that Al Qaeda cells in Dubai may have financed the shipments using a traceless, underground money transfer system called hawala that is often employed by Islamist terrorists."
[...]
"During an October speech in Cincinnati, Bush identified a senior Al Qaeda leader as having received medical treatment in Baghdad in the months after allied bombing in Afghanistan. Since then, confessions that Jordanian police obtained from two Al Qaeda operatives accused of assassinating U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley in Amman, Jordan, show that they received money and weapons from this same man, Abu Musab Zarqawi. Zarqawi, a Jordanian with expertise in chemical and biological weapons design, is reportedly the No. 3 Al Qaeda official. He has lived at an Al Qaeda safe house in Afghanistan where traces of the poison ricin were found last year.
Zarqawi has been tied to a northern Iraqi terror group backed by Hussein to oppose Kurdish rebels. At minimum, Hussein's regime provided Zarqawi with safe harbor and free passage into and out of Iraq. In the worst case, Hussein provided chemical and biological agents directly to a senior Al Qaeda leader.
British intelligence reportedly believes that Zarqawi sent recipes for making ricin from raw materials to Al Qaeda cells in London and perhaps other European cities. Algerian terrorists said to be connected to Al Qaeda and the northern Iraqi group, several of whom worked for food preparation companies, were arrested in London three weeks ago."

Two references to Dubai being a conduit for supplying Hussein with illicit precursor material; for rocket fuel and for chemweapons. Ijaz churned out a pro-Dubai op/ed last week in support of the port deal. He has a signicficant financial association with one of his corporation's building a $600 mil+ underwater hotel, as well as a potential interest in another corporations' investment in shipping container tracking systems. Just how has Dubai rehabilitated itself since then, to become an ally in the GWOT? Would someone please cite with bona fide references the action that government has taken?

"Atomized aluminum powders have uses in aluminothermic smelting, explosives, master alloy manufacturing, pyrotechnic and thermit compounds. It can also be used as a reducing agent in chemical processing and as plastic compound filler." - [4]

Also paints, epoxies, metal fabrication, etc...Admittedly, I am not very familar with Aluminium Powder, or its uses, but I'd hazard a guess that 3 metric tons could have been sucked-up instantaneously by non-military industries in prewar Iraq, which had been smothered by a decade+ of sanctions.

The the chlorine allegations, but notice there were atual citations as to extrapolated manufacture of cholrine, and its non-military uses by Iraq. C'mon, anyone can buy dilute solutions of chlorine in the grocery stores, we swim in dilute solution so it, and many, many more everyday applications.

What level of manufacture was needed for Iraq to produce chlorine "at much higher rates than anything Iraq could have hoped to use for civilian purposes", and why weren't any figures given?

The citation of a link between Hussein and Zarqawi, which has since been discredited, coupled with bioweapon fearmongery. I will not personally publish particulars, even here, but the tech needed to produce ricin is elementary, the base material is organic, as well as commonplace, and the expertise to synthesize could be learned in HS bio+chem classes.

Then there is this fascinating semantic hyperbole:

"northern Iraqi terror group backed by Hussein to oppose Kurdish rebels"

Can anyone offer a recogized legal definition of "terror group", which would include a government-backed milita group which only operates domestically, fighting anti-government rebels? This isn't about their tactics. It is about defining terror. The BuShills had no justification playing this semantical game, sin the US government at this time was snuggled up all warm and cozy to Karimov in Uzbekistan.

--Hugh Manatee 11:17, 2 Mar 2006 (EST) (how fast do the password cookies expire on this site?)

I readily admit that i disagree with many of Ijaz's post-911 essays. Here are a few more examples, using just their titles:

  • "Citizenship Before Civil Rights", Washington Post, April 4, 2002 - an absolutely unAmerican precept. Civil rights Are Natural Rights, not an award by the government to their good citizens.
  • "Musharraf's chance to salvage democracy", Financial Times, September 30, 2002 -- utterly dissonant fallaciousness. the dictator who rose to power in a coup that abrogated Pakistan's fledgling democracy is the saviour of its democracy also?
  • with Alfred von Liechtenstein and James Abrahamson, "Turkey's route to Empowerment", Financial Times, October 6, 2004 -- The Turkish think tank, International Strategic Research Organization (ISRO) published a poll late last year that place Turkish support for EU membership has fallen to 55%. [5] The ISRO's webportal, Journal of Turkish weekly has forcibly challenged the Western perspective of moral ascendancy.

--Hugh Manatee 23:18, 12 Mar 2006 (EST)

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