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by Tad Hinnenkamp '00 On February 26, 1993, the World Trade Center in New York City was bombed. Six people were killed and more than one thousand were injured. When the smoke had not yet cleared, a five-headed monster who ate children was the culprit. It's name was "Islamic Fundamentalism." Terror struck this land of freedom as parents threatened that the "Islamic Fundamentalism" monster would get them if they did not say their prayers. And to top it off, the man pulling the strings of this monster was none other than a blind doctor who preached Islam. In the end, 12 monsters were convicted, all of Arab descent. Here are some of the facts in the Trade Center Bombing. Fact. There was secret U.S. government complicity in the bombing. The FBI probably utilized an informant, Ehmad Salem, as an "agent provocateur" (which is illegal). Salem is a former Egyptian Army officer who was the "star witness" against Dr. Omar Abdel Rahman, whom the FBI says was the ringleader in several bombing plots, including the World Trade Center. Salem was an associate of Rahman and was secretly recording his conversations and selling them to the FBI. But Salem was also recording his conversations with the FBI. There is a growing belief that some of the four men convicted for the World Trade Center Bombing may be victims of a government cover up. The government's case was circumstantial at best, with no evidence or motive linking the accused with the bombing. Fact. Either Salem constructed the bomb plot with those he later set up, with the U.S. government and FBI being innocent but stupid for failing to prevent the bombing due to Salem's unreliability (despite his close collaboration with the Bureau agents for over a year), or the informant Salem organized the bomb plot under FBI and District Attorney "supervision" as part of an entrapment setup (Salem recorded FBI agents telling him to use real explosives instead of fake ones). With the evidence, it seems the latter is more likely. Salem probably befriended certain individuals, possibly some of the convicted, and convinced them that his intentions to bomb the World Trade Center were actually sincere and he convinced them to become involved. The bomb went off and Salem sold out his accomplices while selling more information to the FBI (he was getting a lot of money for this information). The FBI had to protect him and their relationship, so they utilized him against the real target of the FBI, Dr. Rahman. Although Dr. Rahman was not found guilty of the bombing (they had absolutely no evidence), they did find him guilty of "seditious conspiracy to oppose the U.S. government by force and violence." This was actually never proven in court, but based solely on the testimonies of ridiculously paid FBI informants. As ex-Attorney General Ramsey Clark stated, "Sheikh Rahman committed no crime and the United States knows it...the United States wants to falsely label him as a terrorist." So why is Dr. Rahman currently being held as a political prisoner since the authorities aren't claiming that Rahman did anything? It's because he's an internationally known Arab Muslim scholar with a PhD, one who has very different political ideas than the U.S. government. It was an excuse to make Islam and Arabs look evil so the U.S. could have a good excuse (besides the FBI wanting a scapegoat for their major screw-up in the World Trade Center bombing) to oppose Third World Muslim regimes and label them terrorists and then, possibly (this is just a thought), exploit the countries through imperialistic policies with little U.S. opposition...when the time is right. Many Arab Americans have pointed out that since the two major bombings in the U.S. there has been a series of legislation and various orders enacted to deprive Arab Americans and other legal Arab residents of their freedoms and rights. With the enactment of the Omnibus Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, the Executive Order of 1995 (which basically labels Palestinian groups who have different views than the U.S. concerning the Israeli-Arab peace processes as terrorist organizations) and legislation which deprives people of due process such as the use of "secret evidence" are examples of unfair targeting. This has silenced and stifled Arab activism. Many Arab Americans have indicated how the government is manipulating the grand jury system to basically serve foreign interests and to incriminate Arabs because of their political beliefs. It is now a criminal offense to internationally fundraise and give humanitarian aid because of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1996. The law makes it illegal to raise and contribute funds, donate educational and humanitarian aid, or provide lodging or material support to certain foreign groups. Ten years in jail is the penalty. Also, certain political groups abroad were designated as terrorist organizations. Terrorist is defined as any group that partakes in hostage taking, sabotage of a vehicle, and the use of a firearm or explosive with the intent to endanger directly or indirectly the safety of someone or cause damage to property. Thus, now any liberation movement that takes up arms against a repressive regime that is friendly with the U.S. government might receive a terrorist label (Nelson Mandela's ANC would have been considered terrorist under apartheid). Once an organization is deemed "terrorist," anyone who makes donations or funds to a school or clinic funded by that organization could get 10 years. And for some odd reason, five out of the six countries the State Department considers supporters of international terrorism are Arab or Muslim. The law thus ignores repressive regimes that are pro-U.S. (there are dozens) such as Israel which engages in state sponsored terrorism against the Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese under its rule or occupation, and which has legalized torture. If I send money to the Democrats, Republicans, Likud (who has ordered the bombing of Lebanon and has assassinated many leaders ) or Labor parties of Israel, I will suffer no consequences. But if I send money to the Hamas that may fund hospitals for children suffering against Israeli brutality, it is illegal. This is a violation of the First Amendment, for I am expressing my opinion when I support a certain party, such as I could be supporting the right of Israel to occupy Palestine if I give money to the Likud Party. The difference between giving to Likud or Hamas is the political message, one of which the U.S. government supports, the other which it does not. This Anti-Terrorism Law and purposeful poor depiction of Arabs and Islam with the World Trade Center Bombing are nothing more than the U.S. government chilling and controlling political expression, the free exchange of ideas, and the right to associate politically and religiously throughout the U.S. and the world. Political prisoners are created in numerous numbers because of these bigoted policies. These laws must be repealed if there is to be any justice and freedom to express one's own political and religious beliefs.
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