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Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 15:35:31 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: [iwar] [fc:teve.Emerson.is.a."Jewish.Fanatic".(Propaganda.countering.his.reporting)]
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[MK Note: The desperation of those attempting to white wash terrorism
is clearly displayed by this ad hominum attack on Steve Emerson. Steve
is a good investigative journalist whose views are disturbing to
Islamic apologists due to his truthful and insightful contents.
Radical Islamic groups such as CAIR has attempted unsuccessfully for
many years to silence him with false and misleading statements. ]
[AsharqAlawsatOct16,01.jpg]
Tuesday, October 16, 2001
Steven Emerson out to wreck Arab-US ties
By Jamal Khashoggi, Asharq Alawsat, Jedda, Saudi Arabia
JEDDAH, 16 October — If the American administration has indeed given
Steven Emerson the authority to identify terrorists and their
supporters in Arab countries, there can be no doubt that it will
worsen relations between the United States and the Arab and Islamic
world.
The man is a Jewish fanatic. He does nothing to hide either his enmity
toward Muslims or his anti-Islam smear campaign. He is the type of a
man who coolly tells people who know nothing about Islam that "Muslims
wear a red headcover because they have a bloody mentality."
He told this to the American media when he produced a documentary on
"Jihad in America," which was transmitted and financed by a cultural
station supported by the US government and funded by donations, not
advertising. The program drew strong protest from Muslims both within
and outside the United States for its totally negative portrayal of
Islam and Muslims, without limiting the criticism to his alleged
culprits.
Emerson’s credibility was questioned soon after the Oklahoma bombing,
as he appeared on television to say that Muslims were behind it. He
was giving details of the crime at a time when the investigations were
in the initial stages. The whole hue and cry against Muslims suddenly
stopped, however, when it was announced that an American fanatic had
been responsible.
He, nevertheless, continued to collect information on Islamists with
the support of a number of pro-Israeli Congressmen and special
Congress panels and American research centers. He also presented
studies and analyses on "the danger posed by Islam."
With the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Emerson is back in the limelight
again. He introduces himself as an expert on terrorism and has close
relations with officials in the American administration.
This shows that he was behind some of the information which the US
Treasury Department used to prepare a list of 39 individuals and
groups who it is alleged are linked to Osama Bin Laden and his
Al-Qaeda organization.
The new list was not based on strict criteria, unlike the previous
list which was limited to those individuals and organizations actually
linked with Al-Qaeda — including those who appeared with Bin Laden or
those who made statements or fatwas or abducted Americans or carried
out terrorist operations against US interests.
The new list is based on suspicions, a method endorsed and perfected
by Emerson. He did this with the support of Congress after looking at
various books, speeches, Friday prayer sermons, intelligence reports
and whatever appeared in Arabic newspapers and magazines.
He is an expert on joining the dots and filling the gaps by way of his
analytical "expertise." Consequently, the new list included names who
have no connection whatsoever with Bin Laden. One example is Yassin
Abdullah Al-Qadi, a prominent businessman in Jeddah, who is well-known
among business circles within and outside the Kingdom.
The method of analysis adopted by people like Emerson will have
catastrophic results and lead the United States into an unending
crisis in its foreign relations. The inclusion on the list of the
Rabita Trust, which supports the Bihari refugees, is a clear example
of this mix-up. The trust works with the knowledge and acceptance of
the Pakistani government. Its honorary president is Pervez Musharraf.
It seems that the link which Emerson found is the presence of Wael
Hamza Jelaidan among the top officials of the charitable organization.
Emerson described Jelaidan as a founding member of Al-Qaeda and head
of its logistical operations, so he could be targeted in the air
attacks.
But the fact is that Jelaidan was an active relief worker in
Afghanistan throughout the second half of the 1980s and again during a
later, short period. He was also temporarily head of the Saudi Red
Crescent Society and the Muslim World League there. He had strong
relations with leaders of the various Afghan factions, in his capacity
as an official in charge of distributing largescale Saudi relief aid
to Afghan refugees. He had also established relations with then
Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and his successor former Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Jelaidan was one of the three people during that period who
represented Arabs assigned to Afghanistan and Peshawar. The other two
were the late Abdullah Azzam and Osama Bin Laden. It is well known
that Azzam and Jelaidan disagreed on the formation of Al-Qaeda, as
they were sure that enthusiastic youths would be uncontrollable once
they returned to their native countries. Therefore, their duty should
be restricted to Afghanistan’s operations, which were limited to aid
and military, in tandem with the Afghan Mujahedeen.
In fact, the writer of this article was present at a meeting that
consisted of the three leaders, when they were discussing the
viability of separating and forming an independent front for the Arab
fighters. This is exactly what Bin Laden was looking for. But Azzam
and Jelaidan had a different idea. They believed the Arab-Afghans
would serve the Afghan cause much better if they were distributed on
different fronts headed by Afghan leaders. This would be welcomed more
by Afghanistan’s leaders, they thought.
However, Jelaidan is known for his roles in arms transportation and
distribution and that is why Emerson is confident that Jelaidan is
well connected to Al-Qaeda and believes he was the logistics man. In
fact, Jelaidan’s mission was larger than what is believed as he used
to serve on many fronts and it is known that Bin Laden thought about
the formation of Al-Qaeda only in 1992.
US intelligence and the Pakistani security apparatus have more details
about the activities of Jelaidan, as the Americans then were the main
suppliers of arms through the Pakistanis. However, Peshawar was the
main depot for smuggling arms into Afghanistan and other bordering
points and with the help of Azzam, Jelaidan was able to smuggle arms
not only into central Afghanistan but further into the northern part.
The recipients of smuggled arms and weapons were many, including Ahmad
Shah Masood, who become famous as a result of Azzam’s propaganda.
Afterwards, Masood became as famous as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Abdul
Rasoul Sayyaf in his own right.
In fact, Jelaidan after 1990 left Bin Laden, as they no longer had
much in common. Then Bin Laden established his own front that
consisted of his Egyptian friends from the Jihad organization. At that
time, Azzam was killed along with two of his sons. We still don’t have
a clue who killed him. However, many wanted Azzam dead, including
Afghanistan’s communist intelligence apparatus and others who opposed
the establishment of Hamas (which became a reality by 1988). Hamas is
meant to be a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and the
role of Azzam in establishing Hamas cannot be ignored. Nonetheless,
there were rumors that Hekmatyar had a role in the murder of Azzam due
to his annoyance at the rise of his enemy Masood, with whom he was
being pressed to compromise.
Other rumors were directed at the Egyptians for their role in the
murder of Azzam. It is true that Azzam was not comfortable with the
Egyptians, as he used to say that they did not come to Afghanistan for
support but to serve their own interests. Moreover, the Egyptians
there never attended Friday prayers that were lead by Sheikh Azzam -
despite his high-ranking position among the Arabs.
Anyway, Jelaidan thereafter confined his operations toward aid and
joined the Muslim World League, moving between Islamabad and Peshawar.
I remember on one occasion he told me that "Peshawar is a desolate
place after the murder of Azzam." The last significant role Jelaidan
played was a liaison between the warring Hekmatyar and Masood in
Kabul, along with other Muslim leaders. When he felt that his liaison
attempts were of no use to stop the warring parties, Jelaidan left
Afghanistan at the end of 1992.
Thereafter, Jelaidan settled in his home, Saudi Arabia, engaged in
commercial activities. He then joined the aid operations to Bosnia,
where he supervised temporarily the Saudi Aid Committee, the largest
aid organization then in Bosnia. During this period Jelaidan was away
from the Arab Mujahedeen, and it seems that his first experience with
them had not been encouraging. This was also because of the spread of
violence in many Arab countries, which was attributed to Arab-Afghans.
However, security forces have never harassed Jelaidan since he settled
back down in the Kingdom. Nor have they abroad. This is evident by the
post he assumed as the supervisor of the Muslim World League
endowments. Therefore, it is unclear why the League’s endowments were
blacklisted or whether that is due to Jelaidan or other reasons.
Jelaidan has confirmed that the Pakistani government has ordered the
auditing of his financial statements and registers before the US
blacklisting. The officials in charge of this trust have expressed
their desire to cooperate with the US investigators. Also, the
Americans know that officials in the Pakistani government, including
the finance minister, are supervising its activities.
Denying the recent Washington Post report alleging that the trust and
Jelaidan had links with Al-Qaeda, Jelaidan said: "I want to emphasize
that there is no connection between the Rabita Trust for Repatriation
of Stranded Pakistanis or myself with Al-Qaeda or Osama Bin Laden. The
news story was completely baseless."
The members of the trust included Pakistan’s ministers of finance and
interior, Prince Talal ibn Abdul Aziz, secretary-generals of the
Muslim World League and the International Islamic Relief Organization
and President of the Council of Saudi Chamber of Commerce.
"Being the secretary-general of the Rabita Trust, I strongly condemn
such irresponsible news coverage which was released without
confirmation or any investigation. The fund received by the Rabita
Trust is very limited and transparent. We therefore invite all the
concerned authorities to check the accounts of the trust thoroughly
and find out the truth," Jelaidan said in a press statement.
Is the charge against Jelaidan a new invention of Emerson, who called
Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi a terrorist and succeeded in blocking his
visa to the US more than a year ago? The charge against pilots of
Saudi Arabian Airlines, which were later dropped, could also have been
Emerson’s inventions. Or are there other American schemes at work?
We should be prepared for a smear campaign, which aims to widen the
gulf of mistrust between Arabs and Muslims on the one hand and the
West and the United States on the other.
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