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Posted on 02/20/2003 6:21:35 AM PST by Sparta
Fox News just reported that the FBI has made arrests of terror suspects in Tampa, Chicago, and overseas. Fox also reports this could be related to this morning's arrest of the Pali professor in Florida.
They have been all along....
Maybe they rolled-up ol' Ibrahim too!
FBI Arrests Florida Professor Accused of Terror Ties
Thursday, February 20, 2003
FOX NEWSTAMPA, Fla. — A Florida professor accused of having terrorist ties was handcuffed and arrested early Thursday morning by federal agents.
University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian was shown in television images being led in handcuffs to FBI headquarters in Tampa. His indictment was sealed until a court hearing scheduled for Thursday afternoon, according to a federal source.
"It's all about politics," the Kuwaiti-born Al-Arian told reporters as agents led him inside.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa said last year that Al-Arian was under federal investigation, but refused to elaborate.
The tenured Palestinian computer engineering professor was placed on forced leave and banned from campus shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and his subsequent appearance on Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor.
He was drilled with questions about links to known terrorists and asked about tapes from the late 1980s and early 1990s in which he said "Death to Israel" in Arabic. The university says that hurt the school's fund-raising efforts and resulted in threats being made against the school.
Al-Arian has written several pieces about his predicament.
"Not only have many of these media reports frequently misrepresented the facts, but they are to a large extent responsible for my current predicament," he wrote in August 2002 for the political newsletter Counterpunch.
The university also claims the professor raised money for terrorist groups, brought terrorists into the United States and founded organizations that support terrorism.
Al-Arian and his brother-in-law, Mazen Al-Najjar, founded the World and Islam Studies Enterprises, a now-defunct Islamic think tank at USF that was raided by the FBI in 1995. Al-Arian also founded the Islamic Concern Project Inc. in 1988.
Al-Najjar spent more than 3½ years in jail on secret evidence linking him to terrorists. He was released in 2000 but arrested again in November 2001 and deported last August.
Al-Arian argues that he has never advocated violence against others and that his words were a statement against Israeli occupation. He also has consistently denied any connection to terrorists.
In the August 2002 issue of Counterpunch, Al-Arian wrote:
"I have never once in my life advocated the killing of innocent civilians. I abhor terrorism at all levels, against all people. I condemn all violence against civilians — regardless of the faith of the perpetrators — whether they are in pizza parlors, bus stations or refugee camps. It's wrong not only politically, but, more important, on religious, moral and ethical grounds."
Al-Arian says that following the Sept 11 terrorist attacks, he was one of the first Muslim leaders to condemn the attacks and call for justice for the victims. He said his mosque and the Islamic Community of Tampa Bay collected more than $10,000 for the victims' fund in New York, and he himself led a blood drive during which 75 local Muslims participated.
"I am very certain that I am being punished because of my speeches and political opinions of at least 10 years ago, none of which was ever brought into the classroom," he continued. "Unpopular opinions, even offensive ones, are part of American intellectual life," although he added that some of his speeches have been misquoted, mistranslated, or "taken completely out of context."
Al-Arian has lived in the United States since 1975. He had never been charged with a crime.
Last month, the USF faculty union filed a grievance on Al-Arian's behalf, saying that banning him from campus violated the union's contract, Al-Arian's right to academic freedom and its own policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of ethnicity and religious affiliation.
Three days after his appearance on Fox News in September 2001, USF university president Judy Genshaft suspended Al-Arian with pay. Al-Arian was fired just before Christmas for failing to make clear he was speaking for himself and not the university.
The dismissal was described as a security issue.
"We now live in an era of American history that will be defined by our long war against terrorism. By fate, USF is the first public university to be in crisis over what many see as tension between two mighty and important principles: the need to protect our cherished civil liberties and the necessity of ensuring our national security in a time of war and terrorism," Genshaft said in a statement.
"The issue before us is how much disruption the university must endure because of the manner in which a professor exercises his right to express political and social views that are outside the scope of his employment," she said.
A brief timeline of events leading up to Al-Arian's arrest, according to USF:
January 1986 — Al-Arian was first hired as an assistant professor at USF
1991 — The USF Middle Eastern Committee was formed in 1991 to promote dialogue after Persian Gulf War and Al-Arian founded the WISE
1992 — USF's Middle Eastern Committee signed an agreement with WISE to sponsor academic meetings and occasionally publish papers. Islamic speakers are later brought to campus.
November 1994 — A PBS television documentary, "Jihad in America," alleged Al-Arian is the head of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group's domestic support network.
May 1995 — A two-part series in The Tampa Tribune questioned ties among USF, WISE and the Islamic Committee for Palestine charity. That same month, USF's inspector general found irregularities with WISE graduate students and the hiring of an Arabic instructor.
November 1995 — Federal immigration officials searched the WISE office and Al-Arian's home and office.
January 1996 — USF retains outside counsel William Reece Smith Jr. to look into USF's agreements with WISE.
March 1996 — The Oracle student newspaper receives a letter from a group claiming connections to the Islamic Jihad and neo-Nazis. The group threatens to bomb a USF building and kill a white female professor on April 29.
April 29, 1996 — USF closes most of campus due to the bomb threat. Final exams are moved one week later.
1996 — Federal agents say in unsealed court documents that they have probable cause to believe the think tank and the charity are fronts for international terrorists.
May 2, 1996 — Provost Thomas Tighe places Al-Arian on leave with pay, effective August 7, 1996, pending completion of the federal investigation.
August 7, 1996 — Al-Arian's paid leave takes effect.
February 24, 1998 — At the request of USF President Betty Castor, USF Associate General Counsel Hank Lavendera writes to the U.S. Department of Justice, asking for status of federal investigation.
March 6, 1998 — U.S. Attorney Charles R. Wilson responds to Lavendara's February 24 letter saying that the Department of Justice will not comment on its investigations.
April 6, 1998 — Engineering Dean Michael Kovac notifies Computer Science and Engineering Chairman Abraham Kandel that Al-Arian can resume his regular faculty duties in fall 1998.
August 1998 — Al-Arian resumes his regular faculty duties.
Sept. 26, 2001 — Al-Arian appears on FOX News Channel's O'Reilly Factor. Host Bill O'Reilly questions him about alleged ties to terrorism.
Sept. 27, 2001 — USF receives hundreds of angry phone calls and e-mails about Al-Arian, including calls and e-mails with threatening language about Al-Arian. The Computer Science and Engineering Department receives a death threat against Al-Arian. University officials discuss safety issues related to Al-Arian's presence on campus and decide to place him on paid leave.
Oct. 5, 2001 — Al-Arian is present in the USF's Marshall Center in violation of the terms of the leave of absence.
Oct. 8, 2001 — USF Provost David Stamps sends Al-Arian a letter notifying him that his presence on USF's campus on Oct. 5 violated his leave of absence. The letter constitutes a final warning to Al-Arian not to appear on campus.
November 1, 2001 — Attorneys try to determine whether Al-Arian's actions constitute conduct which would justify discipline up to and including termination.
November 1, 2001 — December 18, 2001 - School lawyers decide Al-Arian's conduct could be grounds for termination.
December 19, 2001 — USF Board of Trustees holds an emergency meeting and decides to dismiss Al-Arian.
Fox News' Liza Porteus and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Heard about Interpol, or FBI foreign liaisons?
CRUISE Ships? The Iraqi Carnival Line? Where did you get that idea?
IF these ships exist, which I'm extremely dubious of, I believe they were medium-sized freighters from the original, rather strange and nonsensical, article.
They have their vays...Heh heh heh.
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