Islamist 'enabler' threatens 'grave harm to Bush presidency,' Gaffney warns
A prominent conservative leader who allegedly has used undeclared foreign money and top political connections to promote terrorist sympathizers is an 'enabler' who threatens 'to do grave harm to the Bush presidency.'
Center for Security Policy President Frank Gaffney issued the warning in a letter to Grover Norquist, founding chairman of the Islamic Institute, after Norquist publicly accused Gaffney of 'racism and bigotry' and banished him from a weekly strategy group. Norquist's actions came in response to Gaffney's criticism of a White House official who allowed pro-terrorist Muslim groups access to the White House complex on January 16.
'People who afford terrorist-supporters or -apologists and their organizations entree into the White House deserve to be both challenged and criticized,' Gaffney wrote in response. Norquist, an anti-tax activist and Washington networker who often purports to speak in the name of President Bush, told Gaffney in a widely distributed letter that the Center for Security Policy leader was guilty of 'racial prejudice, religous bigotry or ethnic hatred' because the criticized official is a Muslim.
In response, Gaffney and American Conservative Union leader David Keene slammed Norquist for 'employing "Stalinist tactics" against those who disagree with Mr. Norquist's role in brokering access to the Bush White House,' the Washington Times reported on February 7.
Norquist has been criticized for promoting what is called the Wahhabi lobby, a Saudi-funded network designed to dominate and radicalize Islam in America, at the expense of other Muslim groups whose stand against terrorism is unequivocal.
'Why have you gone to such lengths to defend - to say nothing of legitimize and advance the agendas of - terrorist sympathizers and others hostile to everything for which American conservatives stand?' Gaffney asked Norquist in a responding letter. Gaffney listed his concerns:
* The Islamic Institute, which Norquist co-founded and houses in his Americans for Tax Reform office, received seed money from an avowed supporter of Hezbollah, the terrorist group that killed 241 US Marines in a 1983 suicide bomb attack.
* The Islamic Institute reportedly is 'predominantly funded by foreign governments, shady Saudi sources, and US-based groups raided by the Treasury Department-led Operation Green Quest Task Force for allegedly funding suicide bombers, al Qaeda and other terrorists' activities.'
* Norquist led conservative opposition to parts of the Bush administration's anti-terrorism legislation, without disclosing that his Islamic group was dependent on such funds.
* Norquist has affiliated himself with the radical National Committee to Protect Political Freedom (NCPPF), from which he received an award shortly before the September 11, 2001 attacks, despite the group's thirty-year public track record of promoting domestic and international terrorism.
* Norquist reportedly introduced Sami Al-Arian, whom federal law enforcement officials say is a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to then-candidate George W. Bush during the 2000 campaign. Televised videotape shows Al-Arian raising money in the US for terrorists.
Click here for the full text of Gaffney's letter.
One American Muslim group has warned for years about extremist and terrorist penetration of Islamic organizations in the US. Click here for its reports.
http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/index.jsp?section=today&headline_id=149
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If President Reagan thought enough to of nominated Frank Gaffney when he was President, then that trumps Norquist any day in my book.
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In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, the senior position in the Defense Department with responsibility for policies involving nuclear forces, arms control and U.S.-European defense relations. He acted in that capacity for seven months during which time, he was the Chairman of the prestigious High Level Group, NATO's senior politico-military committee. He also represented the Secretary of Defense in key U.S.-Soviet negotiations and ministerial meetings.
Grover Norquist has been a great defender of taxpayers and a solid conservative strategist for many years. he has written columns in American Spectator and has organized for tax relief and tax cut proposals and referenda. His group has pushed "tax pledges" tat helped win many races for the GOP - think Va.'s Governor race in 1998 (Gilmore) and many others.
He is a true conservative.
I cannot speak to these allegations specifically.
If he did get connected with an extremist group,
he made a big mistake.
But let's not confuse links to Muslims with links to extremists. it surely seems to me the Cheney view - of *not* wanting to engage in broad-brush prejudice, accusing muslims of being extremists, when we *know* that is not true - is far superior approach than jumping on a White House aide due to suspect family ties. And they should certainly not take the dirty laundry out in public.
JMHO.