Congressman John Conyers asks DOJ to investigate FBI's use of informants in mosques and the possible violation of the Constitution

U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), a Detroit Democrat who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter on Wednesday to Attorney General Eric Holder calling for the Justice Department's civil rights division to investigate whether the FBI violated First Amendment freedoms by using undercover agents in mosques and other houses of worship.

Conyers also asked the U.S. Attorney General for a thorough investigation into the shooting death of the group's leader, Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100114/NEWS02/1140430/1001/News/Conyers-Review-FBI-case-on-imam

In his letter, Conyers said:

"For this reason, I call on the Department’s Civil Rights Division to conduct a complete review of the use of informants at American places of worship by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and in particular to determine whether the Department’s conduct in this regard may constitute an unlawful pattern or practice in violation of constitutionally protected rights."

Rep. Dennis Kucinich: Israel May Be in Violation of Arms Export Control Act

In light of press reports that Israeli forces fired on a United Nations school where civilians were taking shelter, I sent notice today to Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, that Israel's actions in Gaza since December 27th, 2008 may constitute a violation of the requirements of the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (AECA)...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-dennis-kucinich/israel-may-be-in-violatio_b_155709.html

How does a Republican-pushed bill amendment serve terrorists' interests?

By Corey Saylor

U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, recently attached an amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act that may unintentionally legitimize Al Qaeda and other anti-American forces.

Passed by a vote of 249-180, Hoekstra's amendment says that "none of the funds ... appropriated by this Act may be used to prohibit or discourage the use of the words or phrases 'jihadist,' 'jihad,' 'Islamo-fascism,' 'caliphate,' 'Islamist,' or 'Islamic terrorist' by or within the intelligence community or the Federal Government."

This amendment needs to be removed.

Many experts, including the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, find it misguided, and Hoekstra's arguments for it unsupported.

In January, the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties published a guide called "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims," and in March, the National Counterterrorism Center produced a similar publication called "Words that Work and Words that Don't: A Guide for Counterterrorism Communication."

According to these recommendations, by using phrases such as "Islamic terrorism," U.S. officials may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesman (sic) for ordinary Muslims." The report also urges "caution in using terms such as 'jihadist,' 'Islamist,' and 'holy warrior' as grandiose descriptions," to avoid associating acts of violence or terrorism with religious concepts.

On the House floor, Hoekstra bitterly complained that "the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Department of Homeland Security have issued memos imposing speech codes."

The DHS document actually "outlines recommendations," and the NCTC document says its suggestions are "not binding."

Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, who chairs the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote a letter to other members of Congress opposing Hoekstra's amendment, saying, "These are precisely the terms that Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders use routinely to describe their actions against the United States. We should not let them define this debate and claim a false mantle of legitimacy."

So this argument is not, as Hoekstra asserts, about creating "speech police" or "the politically correct politicization of our nation's intelligence community." It's about having America's spokespeople and soldiers smartly use language that defines Al Qaeda and other groups as thugs and criminals. This is done not because we worry about offending sensitivities, but because it serves the strategic purpose of isolating extremists and removing the false cloak of religiosity that they use to justify their barbarism.

COREY SAYLOR is national legislative director for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil liberties organization. He may be contacted at: csaylor@cair.com

Corona Muslim among activists seeking probe of reported surveillance, theft of records from Camp Pendleton

By: Paige Austin, Press-Enterprise, 5/29/08


A civil-rights group and a coalition of Muslim activists headed by a Corona man called on Congress this week to investigate a report that surveillance records of Southland Muslims were stolen from Camp Pendleton by military and law enforcement officials.

The request stems from a news report that military officials and law enforcement members of the Los Angeles County Terrorist Early Warning Group illegally took the top-secret documents from the base's Strategic Technical Operations Center.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Gary Maziarz has been court-martialed and convicted for his role in the thefts.

While the details of the surveillance and the alleged theft remain largely unknown, the incident provides confirmation that the military and law enforcement groups have been gathering information about local Muslim communities, said Michael German, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington Legislative Office.

Groups such as the ACLU have long been fighting for more restrictions on government surveillance of U.S. citizens. The Camp Pendleton theft provides them support in their calls for increased oversight of secret surveillance programs, he said.

"One of the fundamental touchstones of our democracy is that the American military isn't to be used against the American people," German said. "What is the military doing with records of domestic surveillance activity?"

Camp Pendleton officials did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Hussam Ayloush, a Corona resident and executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of the Greater Los Angeles Area, signed the letter along with members of five organizations asking the Senate and House judiciary committees to investigate along with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

"It's not only a matter of protecting our civil rights -- it also hurts public safety by eroding the Muslim community's trust in law enforcement," Ayloush said.

As a Muslim and civil-rights activist, Ayloush believes he has been the target of government surveillance and is part of a lawsuit aimed at forcing the government to release records pertaining to the surveillance of American-Muslims.

"We want to know to what extent surveillance is being conducted on law-abiding citizens, and who authorized it," he said. "We want to make sure that the Legislature is providing the checks and balances required by our Constitution. The ultimate goal is to ensure -- even during times of war, fear and paranoia -- that our Constitution is always being upheld."

Fisk: Warning, this film could make you angry

Robert Fisk commenting on the new movie "Rendition"
03 November 2007

The Independent Newspaper

At university, we male students used to say that it was impossible to take a beautiful young woman to the cinema and concentrate on the film. But in Canada, I've at last proved this to be untrue. Familiar with the Middle East and its abuses – and with the vicious policies of George Bush – we both sat absorbed by Rendition, Gavin Hood's powerful, appalling testimony of the torture of a "terrorist suspect" in an unidentified Arab capital after he was shipped there by CIA thugs in Washington.

Why did an Arab "terrorist" telephone an Egyptian chemical engineer – holder of a green card and living in Chicago with a pregnant American wife while he was attending an international conference in Johannesburg? Did he have knowledge of how to make bombs? (Unfortunately, yes – he was a chemical engineer – but the phone calls were mistakenly made to his number.)

He steps off his plane at Dulles International Airport and is immediately shipped off on a CIA jet to what looks suspiciously like Morocco – where, of course, the local cops don't pussyfoot about Queensberry rules during interrogation. A CIA operative from the local US embassy – played by a nervous Jake Gyllenhaal – has to witness the captive's torture while his wife pleads with congressmen in Washington to find him.

The Arab interrogator – who starts with muttered questions to the naked Egyptian in an underground prison – works his way up from beatings to a "black hole", to the notorious "waterboarding" and then to electricity charges through the captive's body...

Well, suffice it to say that the CIA guy turns soft, rightly believes the Egyptian is innocent, forces his release by the local minister of interior...Not very realistic?

Well, think again. For in Canada lives Maher Arar, a totally harmless software engineer – originally from Damascus – who was picked up at JFK airport in New York and underwent an almost identical "rendition" to the fictional Egyptian in the movie. Suspected of being a member of al-Qa'ida – the Canadian Mounties had a hand in passing on this nonsense to the FBI – he was put on a CIA plane to Syria where he was held in an underground prison and tortured. The Canadian government later awarded Arar $10m in compensation and he received a public apology from Prime Minister Stephen Harper...

But then again, what can you expect of a president whose nominee for Alberto Gonzales's old job of attorney general, Michael Mukasey, tells senators that he doesn't "know what is involved" in the near-drowning "waterboarding" torture used by US forces during interrogations. "If waterboarding is torture, torture is not constitutional," the luckless Mukasey bleated.

Yes, and I suppose if electric shocks to the body constitute torture – if, mind you – that would be unconstitutional. Right? The New York Times readers at least spotted the immorality of Mukasey's remarks. A former US assistant attorney asked "how the United States could hope to regain its position as a respected world leader on the great issues of human rights if its chief law enforcement officer cannot even bring himself to acknowledge the undeniable verity that waterboarding constitutes torture...". As another reader pointed out, "Like pornography, torture doesn't require a definition." ...

So is truth stranger than fiction? Or is Hollywood waking up – after Syriana and Munich – to the gross injustices of the Middle East and the shameless and illegal policies of the US in the region? Go and see Rendition – it will make you angry – and remember Arar. And you can take a beautiful woman along to share your fury.

The "King" of bigotry

A DNC Statement

DNC Condemns Congressman Peter King's Comments and Calls on Rudy Giuliani to Fire His Homeland Security Adviser

Washington, DC - The Democratic National Committee today condemned Peter King's statement that there are "too many mosques in this country," and called on Rudy Giuliani to fire King as his homeland security adviser. King is on Giuliani's Homeland Security Advisory Board and according to the New York Post is a "top adviser".

"Congressman King's comments are deplorable and he should apologize immediately. This type of bigoted language has no place in public discourse, especially from the Republican's top lawmaker on the House Homeland Security Committee," said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton.

"Will Rudy Giuliani denounce Peter King's comments and fire King as his homeland security adviser? Given Rudy's history of using divisive tactics, he shouldn't be placing his trust in an adviser who seems to think an individual's religion is the problem with our homeland security. Scapegoating a group of Americans to win elections is an ugly Republican campaign tactic Americans have already rejected. Our country was founded on the principle of religious freedom. Religious profiling and discrimination have no place in our country."

Peter King Is A Member Of Giuliani's Presidential Campaign. Peter King is on Giuliani's Homeland Security Advisory Board. The New York Post described King as a top advisor to Rudy Giuliani. King endorsed Giulianis presidential bid in January 2007. [JoinRudy2008.com, , 09/04/07; New York Post, 09/05/07; Newsday (New York), 1/30/07]

Republican Rep. Peter King Tells The Politico There Are "Too Many Mosques in This Country." New York Rep. Peter King, a prominent House Republican, said there are "too many mosques in this country" in a recent interview with Politico. "There are too many people sympathetic to radical Islam," King said. "We should be looking at them more carefully and finding out how we can infiltrate them." [Politco.com, 9/19/07]

To watch the King interview go to:

http://hussamayloush.blogspot.com/2007/09/rep-king-many-mosques-in-this-country_29.html