Omer Abdi Mohamed gets 12 years in prison

Terror recruiter and financier sentenced in Minneapolis

Al-Shabaab has been able to wreak havoc in Somalia because of its combustible mix of money and jihadist ideology.  Unfortunately, some of al-Shabaab’s revenues originated from donations bundled together by terrorist supporters in Minnesota such as Amina Farah Ali and Omer Abdi Mohamed.

Here’s the latest from Minneapolis:

Four men in Minnesota sentenced to prison for aiding Somali rebel group

MINNEAPOLIS | Tue May 14, 2013

(Reuters) – A federal judge sentenced four men to prison on Tuesday for helping recruit young men in Minnesota to travel to Somalia and fight for the militant group al Shabaab.

Investigators believe about 20 young, ethnic Somali men left Minnesota from 2007 to 2009 to go to Somalia to fight for al Shabaab, which the United States designated a terrorist organization.

Three men who cooperated with investigators were each sentenced to three years and a fourth man was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

“These defendants, by providing material support to a designated terrorist organization, broke both the law and the hearts of family members across the Twin Cities,” U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones said in a statement.

Eighteen men were charged after a four-year investigation. Eight were convicted and the rest are thought to be fugitives or to have been killed in Somalia while fighting for al Shabaab.

On Tuesday, Omer Abdi Mohamed, 28, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty in July 2011 to one count of conspiring to provide material support to co-conspirators who intended to murder, kidnap, or maim Ethiopian and Somali government troops.

Mohamed, of Minneapolis, admitted that he helped recruits get plane tickets and helped to raise money for them to travel to Somalia to fight with al Shabaab in 2007.

Three men who cooperated with investigators were each sentenced to three years in prison by Chief Judge Michael Davis in Minneapolis federal court…

How exactly did Mohamed raise the money for the recruits?  From the trial brief:

…The defendant and his conspirators went to local malls and apartment buildings to ask for money, claiming it would be used to build a mosque or to assist with relief efforts in Somalia. In fact, the money was to pay for the airfare and travel expenses of the group of men to join in the conspiracy…

If these Somali fellows had to do all this legwork to finance their travel to Somalia, it makes one wonder how Tamerlan Tsarnaev secured funding to travel to Dagestan.  Public benefits and proceeds from casual drug sales may have been insufficient, and Tsarnaev didn’t have access to community donations in the same way the Minnesota Somalis have had.  Did Tsarnaev’s in-laws unwittingly pay for his trip?

Terror finance termagant finally sentenced

Local Somali activist says financier “deserves the Nobel Prize”

Amina Farah Ali was convicted in 2011 of supporting terrorism by collecting donations and transferring them to al-Shabaab for jihad in Somalia.  Her sentencing took place last week.  Ali could have been sent to prison for 195 years, but the federal judge Michael Davis imposed a 20-year sentence.

Despite Judge Davis’s lenience toward Ali, CAIR is filing a complaint against him over questions he asked her during sentencing (h/t @1389).

The Minneapolis Star Tribune recorded the reaction from the Somali community following the sentence.  Activist Abdinasir Abdi declared “Amina was a good woman, a mother, a teacher, educator, humanitarian worker. I think she deserves the Nobel Prize because she is a great humanitarian.”  Other Somali leaders blamed the situation on U.S. foreign policy, and one woman brandished a sign saying that Ali is her hero:

Ali’s partner in crime, Hawo Mohamed Hassan, was sentenced to 10 years.  The Tribune also has the report:

Two Rochester women get 10, 20 years for aiding Somalia terrorists

Article by: RANDY FURST , Star Tribune

Updated: May 17, 2013

One got 10 years in prison, the other 20 for funneling money to a group fighting in Somalia.

Two Rochester women were sentenced to federal prison Thursday for their roles in funneling money to an organization the U.S. government has called a terrorist group fighting in Somalia.

Hawo Mohamed Hassan, 66, who got 10 years in prison, and Amina Farah Ali, 36, who got 20, were the last of nine people sentenced in federal court in Minneapolis this week.

The group was the first set of defendants sent to prison from Minneapolis in this country’s largest anti-terrorism investigation since Sept. 11, 2001.

U.S. Chief Judge Michael Davis handed down the sentences before a courtroom packed with the defendants’ families and members of the Somali-American community.

The drama capped a federal investigation that lasted more than four years in which U.S. authorities sought to shut down a recruiting effort that lured more than 20 young men to Somalia, several of whom died fighting or in suicide bombings.

The women, both U.S. citizens who came here from Somalia, were convicted in 2011 of conspiring to provide material support to Al-Shabab in fundraising in Rochester that prosecutors have called “a deadly pipeline” of money and fighters from the United State to Somalia.

They have had wide support in the Twin Cities’ Somali-American community, and many in the courtroom were stunned by the sentences, especially the 20-year sentence for Ali.

Hassan Mohamud, a St. Paul imam, said he believes the sentences were too long and that both women should have been released.

“All they did was aid the poor and the orphans,” he said.

But prosecutors said it was clear from the phone conversations they monitored that the women knew they were raising money for Al-Shabab, a group labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in 2008.

While Ali said she never knew that funds she raised were going to Al-Shabab, Hassan claimed that she came to realize the organization was getting the money and broke with Ali, preferring that the money go to set up a senior health center.

But prosecutor Jeff Paulsen cited telephone wiretaps that he said showed there had been no rift between the two and that Hassan had a financial investment in the health center and planned to continue to work with Ali.

Ali, sentenced first, denied she did anything wrong. She said she had no knowledge that the money she collected went to Al-Shabab.

Asked by Davis what she knew about Al-Qajda, she indicated she knew nothing about it.

Her attorney, Dan Scott, said “she chose the wrong horse,” adding, “She thought she was doing good work. She was wrong.”

Defendants in the Somali cases have argued that Ethiopia invaded Somalia to support a newly created transitional government that lacked support from the Somali people. They have said that their clients backed the resistance to the invasion.

However, prosecutors argued that the transitional government was recognized by foreign nations, so any support for Al-Shabab, which was fighting the invasion, was against U.S. law as well as support for a terrorist group.

Steven Ward, who prosecuted the case, said Ali was heard on a wiretap supporting Al-Shabab, saying she supported a suicide bombing and “let the civilians die”…

Suspects robbed banks to fund terror

Indonesian police hauling off one of the suspects

Indonesian police have carried out raids against 20 terrorists who were involved with raising money for jihad.  The men were involved with bank robberies in at least three different cities, and at least one jewel heist in Jakarta.  Four of the detainees had immediate plans for a new bank robbery in central Java.

Indonesian jihadists have previously asserted that robbing banks to finance terrorism is compliant with Islamic law.

From the Jakarta Post on May 10:

Terror suspects linked to Poso

The National Police’s counterterrorism unit, Densus 88, conducted a series of successful overnight operations against terrorists with links to the Abu Omar and Autad Rawa groups, the police say.

The 20 terror suspects — seven killed and 13 arrested — in the raids across Java are linked to the groups that collect money to support the activities of mujahidin (those engaged in jihad) in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

Early investigations indicated that the men had been involved in armed robberies at Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) offices in three cities.

“They stole Rp 790 million [US$81,192] from BRI in Batang and Rp 630 million from BRI Grobogan [both in Central Java]; and Rp 460 million from BRI Lampung. They also attempted to burn down Glodok Market in West Jakarta,” said National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar on Thursday as quoted by Antara news agency.

The suspects carried out various initiatives to collect money, including robbery.

“Four alleged terrorists were planning a robbery in Kebumen [Central Java], when they were arrested in an overnight raid in the regency,” said Boy.

It is alleged that one suspect, Abu Roban alias Untung, had been involved in some robbery cases — a jewelry store in Tambora, West Jakarta; as well as the three BRI offices — before Densus 88 officers killed him in Batang.

Police linked the suspects with Santoso, who is believed to be behind a series of attacks in Poso over the past few years.

Santoso himself is a former member of a terror group led by Basri, a member of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) group. Basri surrendered to police after a gunfight on Feb. 1, 2007, in Poso where a Muslim-Christian conflict killed at least 1,000 people over the course of 1998 to 2002.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Densus 88 personnel raided areas in Batang, Kebumen and Kendal in Central Java; Bandung in West Java; and Banten. During the raids, the officers shot dead seven suspects and 3 others were captured alive.

“The terror suspects killed during the raids were identified as Abu Roban, Bastari, Toni, Bayu alias Ucup, Budi alias Angga, Junet alias Encek and Sarame,” Boy announced.

The suspects captured alive in Jakarta were Agus Widharto, Agung, Endang, Faisal alias Boim and Iman.

Iwan and Puryanto were arrested in Kendal. While four others — Budi, Farel, Slamet and Wagiono — were apprehended in Kebumen.

The two suspects arrested in Bandung were Haris Fauzi alias Jablud and William Maksum, alias Acum alias Dadan.

The bodies of the three dead men were flown to Dr. Sukamto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, on Thursday after being examined at Bhayangkara Hospital in Semarang.

During the raid in Ciputat, Densus 88 officers confiscated Rp 25.48 million, while in the Bandung raid, the police found two revolvers, an FN Browning pistol, hundreds of bullets and Rp 6 million in cash…

Mujahideen paid by D-Gang’s hawala

The Indian Mujahideen finance their jihadist operations with money distributed through terror mogul Dawood Ibrahim’s illegal hawala network.  While it has long been known that Dawood Ibrahim is a bankroller for terrorism, his specific ties to the Indian Mujahideen are what makes this article from the Hindustan Times newsworthy:

Is Dawood funding Indian terror?

Presley Thomas     Mumbai, May 03, 2013

Dawood Ibrahim, the man who maimed Mumbai on March 12, 1993, has emerged as the face behind homegrown terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM). Dawood and his intricate network of bogus hawala firms, spread across the country, have been covertly financing IM’s network in India, said sources in the central agencies and counter-terrorism units investigating blast cases across the country.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been informed of Dawood’s alleged extensive hawala network in the Middle East and South Asian countries. A detailed probe by the Anti-Money Laundering / Suspicious Cases Unit (AMLU) is underway in the Middle East, sources said.

The involvement of Dawood’s  gang, the D-Company, in financing terror through his network of hawala firms was unearthed during investigations into the July 13, 2011 blasts in Mumbai, (where the IM was allegedly involved) said sources in central agencies and counter-terrorism units. Many key players in the attacks are suspected to have links with Dawood.

A sum of Rs. 10 lakh had been sent by alleged hawala operator Muzzafar Kola to IM kingpin Yasin Bhatkal through Delhi-based Kanwar Nain Pathrija, police sources said. The investigating agencies then suspected the involvement of the D-Company and intercepted telephone conversations from across the border showed directions being given to certain people, along with details of the money flow and transfers through hawala transactions. Kola, sources said, was a Mustafa Dossa man who later became a Dawood associate.

These reports led agencies to believe that Bhatkal, a Fazal-ur-Rehman gang member who now heads the IM, was working closely with Dawood and his company…

Flash crash and the Obama hoax

When a fake news bulletin was distributed after the Associated Press’s Twitter feed was hacked on April 23, the stock market instantly dropped a full 1 percent. 

On his Global Economic Warfare website, Kevin Freeman tackles the implications of the fake tweet on the market, and how market manipulation can be used as a financial warfare tactic.  Read his important posts here and here.  An excerpt follows:

A Single, Man-Made Stock Market Crash is a New-Concept Weapon

When the two PLA Colonels wrote Unrestricted Warfare in 1999, they listed “a single man-made stock market crash” as one of three specific new-concept weapons for the 21st Century. They called it financial warfare.

We have been warning about market manipulation for several years, first in our report for the Department of Defense and then in the New York Times Best-Seller, Secret Weapon. Yet, most in the intelligence and defense community know little about the financial markets. And, those who understand the markets generally know little about defense. Unfortunately, our enemies have studied both.

This week, we saw a hacked Twitter account used as a weapon resulting in a mini flash crash for stocks. Even as the market recovered in minutes, estimates are that there was something like $150 or $200 billion lost even if only briefly. We mentioned this in an earlier post.

While any human could clearly see that the White House was not bombed as the hacked tweets claimed, computer algorithms that monitor social media sites could not tell the difference. As a result, massive sell programs began and other high-frequency algorithms picked up on it.

The Syrian Electronic Army claims that they were the source of the false tweet…

Mr. Freeman also included this graphic which showed the plunge in trading.  The person or entity responsible for the planned Twitter forgery could have anticipated the miniature flash crash and hedged against it in order to profit from the hack:

Drugs, Al Qaeda, FARC, and arming the rebels

Mounting evidence suggests that weapons given to Libyan militants in the rebellion against Qaddafi were subsequently leveraged to purchase cocaine from FARC for follow-on distribution to the same European countries that helped arm the rebels in the first place.  No lessons will be learned from this fiasco, as it’s full steam ahead with the same players arming Syrian rebels.

From the Mirror (h/t Aisha):

Al Qaeda’s £168million cocaine smugglers: terror group flooding Britain with drugs

28 Apr 2013

Profits are being used to fund terror plots in the UK and western Europe

Al Qaeda has teamed up with other terror groups to smuggle cocaine to Britain, the Sunday People has ­discovered. One plot involved a staggering four tons of the illegal drug with a street value of £168million.

Al Qaeda, led by 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden until his death in May 2011, is using profits to fund terror plots in the UK and western Europe.

And they have paid for the cocaine with weapons looted in Libya during the mayhem following the death of Colonel Gaddafi in 2011.

Spooks from MI6 and the UK’s criminal intelligence agency SOCA have joined forces to investigate al Qaeda’s links to drug cartels and terrorist groups in Africa and South America.

Two Colombians – one a member of left-wing terror movement FARC – were arrested after a probe by the US Drugs Enforcement Agency.

It is understood the South American group, now a major ­cocaine cartel, sold a large quantity of the drug to bin Laden’s North African branch, al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb.

They paid using cash and also weapons looted in Libya.

The drug was shipped to North Africa and moved across the Mediterranean into southern France where it is believed to have been distributed to other European ­countries, including the UK. A second operation carried out by secret intelligence groups led to the arrest of the former head of the navy in West Africa’s Guinea-Bissau, now classed as a “narco-state” because of its reliance on the cocaine trade.Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto and six others have now been flown to New York and charged with drugs trafficking. Four also face terrorism charges.

They were caught in a sting ­operation in which they believed they were talking to members of FARC. They agreed to supply ground-to-air missiles and a quantity of AK-47 assault rifles and grenade launchers in exchange for four tons of cocaine with a street value of £168 million.

Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb has long been involved with cocaine traffickers, receiving large payments to ensure drug runners could safely cross the Algerian Sahara with multi-million-pound consignments.

But spies say this is the first time evidence has emerged suggesting the organisation are themselves trafficking cocaine into Europe.

A highly placed crime ­intelligence source in London said: “It is a very worrying development and both MI6 and SOCA will be working ­together to find out as much as they can.

“When there is an overlap between straightforward crime and security matters, the two agencies work together. There will be a lot of interaction with security forces from several countries.

“France will be particularly involved given the Algerian connection and the fact that France seems to be the main entry point for the al Qaeda shipments. There will also be strong American interest”…

Somali bank resumes semi-annual, half-million dollar payments to al-Shabaab

An international Somali-based financial institution is reported to have resumed its recurring transfers of $500,000 twice a year to the al-Shabaab terrorist organization.  The longstanding transfers of money from Dahabshiil to al-Shabaab had allegedly stopped temporarily during a dispute between the bank and the jihadist group.

The allegation that payments have resumed is based on Somali radio and Internet sources, but the text of the news report appears to be available only on YouTube, which is one of the few web outlets that has escaped Dahabshiil’s history of attempts to eliminate negative Internet search.
 

Dahabshiil pays half a million dollar to Al Shabab as a tax- Report

Published on Apr 29, 2013

Spokesman of Al Shabab’s Somalia Mukhtar Robow faction told the media that the dispute they’ve had with Dahabshiil has now been resolved.

Al Shabab’s spokesman for operations Abdul aziz abu Musab said Al Shabab accepted the payment of the taxes they used to pay them which is $500,000 for every six months.

“Dahabshil renders services to the infidel government and Christian organizations, therefore we had an agreement five years ago which is basically for them to pay half a million dollars in every six months” said abu Musab.

Radio Al Andalus, the mouthpiece of Al Shabab said that the movement took necessary steps against Dahabshiil when the company refused to pay the tax as agreed.

Dahabshiil is facing a lawsuit pertaining to funding terrorist in the Netherlands. Abu Musab’s statement means a clear testimony that Dahabshiil finances terrorist organization.

Furthermore, Al Shabaab Somalia is facing an internal conflict within the leadership. With this regard, it is believed that Dahabshiil has sided with the Godane faction. The Indian Ocean News letter wrote about Dahabshiil’s setbacks with the headline “Series of hard blows for Dahabshiil”.

Dahabshiil has been the forefront of the money transfer business for a long time, but now the company is struggling with numerous difficulties, specially when Al Shabab closed its branches in Hiiraan, Galgaduud, Bay and Bakool regions. On top of that, Al Shabab has recently blasted the HQ of Dahabshiil in Mogadishu ,Somalia which killed head of the company’s security.

Experts say Dahabshiil is quite similar to sheikhs of Al-itisam or Al-itihad. Both organizations used to support Al Shabab but later on decided to revoke their support. Dahabshiil will be forced to pay the extortion money as long as Al Shabab is in Somalia. The credibility of the news of Dahabshiil’s payments to Al Shabab can be seen through Al Shabab’s internet portal somalimemo.netwhich has been writing stories favorable to Dahabshiil in the last couple of days. The website also posted Dahabshiil’s advertisement at the top of the homepage.

Sources: Kalshaale.com, Khaatumo State Of Somalia, Buhodle City Website.

A Minneapolis-based bank, U.S. Bancorp, established a new relationship with Dahabshiil in April to facilitate remittances from Somalis in Minnesota to Somalia.

One Algerian’s financial cyber-crime spree

Hacker Hamza Bendelladj’s malware infected personal computers in order to steal the financial credentials of unsuspecting users and sell the data to third parties.  If one man with a computer and an Internet connection can operate a scheme like this, just think of what an enemy state actor could accomplish.

This press release comes to us from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Atlanta Division of the FBI on May 3 (h/t Douglas McNabb):

Algerian National Extradited from Thailand to Face Federal Cyber Crime Charges in Atlanta for SpyEye Virus

ATLANTA—Hamza Bendelladj, an Algerian national also known as Bx1, will be arraigned on federal cyber crime charges for his role in developing, marketing, distributing, and operating the malicious computer virus SpyEye.

“No violence or coercion was used to accomplish this scheme, just a computer and an Internet connection,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Bendelladj’s alleged criminal reach extended across international borders, directly into victims’ homes. In a cyber netherworld, he allegedly commercialized the wholesale theft of financial and personal information through this virus which he sold to other cyber criminals. Cyber criminals, take note—we will find you. This arrest and extradition demonstrates our determination to bring you to justice.”

“Hamza Bendelladj has been extradited to the United States to face charges of controlling and selling a nefarious computer virus designed to pry into computers and extract personal financial information,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman. “The indictment charges Bendelladj and his co-conspirators with operating servers designed to control the personal computers of unsuspecting individuals and aggressively marketing their virus to other international cybercriminals intent on stealing sensitive information. The extradition of Bendelladj to face charges in the United States demonstrates our steadfast determination to bring cyber criminals to justice, no matter where they operate.”

“The FBI has expanded its international partnerships to allow for such extraditions of criminals who know no borders,” stated Mark F. Giuliano, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office. “The federal indictment and extradition of Bendelladj should send a very clear message to those international cyber criminals who feel safe behind their computers in foreign lands that they are, in fact, within reach.”

Bendelladj, 24, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Atlanta, Georgia on December 20, 2011. The 23-count indictment charges him with one count of conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, and 11 counts of computer fraud. Bendelladj was apprehended at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 5, 2013, while he was in transit from Malaysia to Egypt. The indictment was unsealed on May 1, 2013. Bendelladj was extradited from Thailand to the United States on May 2, 2013, and was arraigned in United States District Court before United States Magistrate Judge Janet F. King.

According to court documents, the SpyEye virus is malicious computer code, or malware, which is designed to automate the theft of confidential personal and financial information, such as online banking credentials, credit card information, usernames, passwords, PINs, and other personally identifying information. The SpyEye virus facilitates this theft of information by secretly infecting victims’ computers, enabling cyber criminals to remotely control the computers through command and control (C&C) servers. Once a computer is infected and under the cyber criminals’ control, a victim’s personal and financial information can be surreptitiously collected using techniques such as “web injects,” which allow cyber criminals to alter the display of webpages in the victim’s browser in order to trick them into divulging personal information related to their financial accounts. The financial data is then transmitted to the cyber criminals’ C&C servers, where criminals use it to steal money from the victims’ financial accounts.

The indictment alleges that from 2009 to 2011, Bendelladj and others developed, marketed, and sold various versions of the SpyEye virus and component parts on the Internet and allowed cyber criminals to customize their purchases to include tailor-made methods of obtaining victims’ personal and financial information. Bendelladj allegedly advertised the SpyEye virus on Internet forums devoted to cyber crime and other criminal activities. In addition, Bendelladj allegedly operated C&C servers, including a server located in the Northern District of Georgia, which controlled computers infected with the SpyEye virus. One of the files on Bendelladj’s C&C server in the Northern District of Georgia allegedly contained information from approximately 253 unique financial institutions.

If convicted, Bendelladj faces a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud; up to 20 years for each wire fraud count; up to five years for conspiracy to commit computer fraud; up to five or 10 years for each count of computer fraud; and fines of up to $14 million…

Muslim Aid trustee charged with war crimes

Islamic charity leader indicted for killing 18 intellectuals

Money Jihad has been contacted by Muslim Aid on a couple occasions in the past (see here and here) to insist upon the innocence of their philanthropic endeavors and to disclaim their organization’s membership in the pro-Hamas network of charitable fronts known as the Union of Good.  Will Muslim Aid also claim to be unaware that at least one of their trustees is a war criminal?

From BBC (h/t to Jurist with a special nod to Mahadib who told Money Jihad that Mueen-Uddin could be indicted) on May 2:

UK community leader Mueen-Uddin indicted in Bangladesh

A British community leader has been indicted in Bangladesh for his alleged role in the killing of 18 people during the 1971 liberation war from Pakistan.

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin strongly denies any role in the murder of 18 intellectuals in December of that year.

He is alleged to have been a member of the Al-Badr group, which identified and killed pro-independence activists.

He is accused with another alleged Al-Badr member, Ashrafuzzaman Khan, a United States citizen.

His lawyers have rejected all the allegations against him. They say that none of the accusations have ever been formally put to him and there has been no attempt to question him.

“The statements made by members of the government of Bangladesh are grossly defamatory to my client, wholly untrue and are refuted in their entirety,” his lawyer Toby Cadman told the BBC.

Mr Cadman’s website carries a detailed rebuttal of all the allegations against Mr Mueen-Uddin.

Holding dual British and Bangladesh citizenship, Mr Mueen-Uddin is a trustee of the UK charity Muslim Aid and played a prominent role in setting up the Muslim Council of Britain.

His website says that he is also the director of Muslim Spiritual Care Provision in the UK’s National Health Service.

State prosecutor Syed Haider Ali told the AFP news agency that he “has been indicted for crimes against humanity and genocide”. He said that Mr Mueen-Uddin fled Bangladesh soon after the end of the war.

Mr Khan, now believed to be living in the US, faces the same charges.

An arrest warrant was issued by the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka on Thursday for both men, who are accused of “directly taking part” in the killing of the 18 intellectuals between 10 December 10 and 15 December 1971.

Charges were initially put before the tribunal last month – on Thursday it accepted them and ordered their arrests.

Nobody knows exactly how many people were killed in the 1971 war. Bangladesh says up to three million people died, mostly in massacres by the Pakistan army and their local Islamist allies, the Razakar and Al-Badr forces…

Ottawa to Syrian rebels: fund yourselves

John Kerry believes it’s a good idea to fund Syrian rebels despite the blurry lines among Syrian reformers, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Al Qaeda fighters.  Canada disagrees.  Overlooked this insightful piece from the Globe & Mail last month, which lays out the reasons for Canada’s position.

Hat tip to Vlad Tepes, who is rightfully proud of Canada’s approach, and notes that Canada’s decision “should be obvious to everyone.”  True.

Too risky to fund Syrian rebels, Canada says

By CAMPBELL CLARK

The Globe and Mail

OTTAWA - The United States has shifted course to provide aid directly to Syria’s rebels, but Canada doesn’t have enough confidence in them to follow suit.

It is a rare international question where the two allies are taking different views: Canada, which was gung-ho about helping rebels in Libya, thinks it’s too risky to fund those in Syria.

On Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States will for the first time send so-called non-lethal aid such as food and medical supplies directly to the Free Syrian Army, as well as provide $60-million to the political wing of the coalition seeking to unseat President Bashar al-Assad.

While that fell short of the pledges of arms and equipment that Syrian rebels really want, it marks a shift in U.S. policy to directly support rebels fighting the Assad regime.

“We do this because we need to stand on the side of those in this fight who want to see Syria rise again in unity and see a democracy and human rights and justice,” Mr. Kerry said after a meeting in Rome of countries supporting the opposition.

But Canada – unlike the United States, most of Europe and much of the Arab world – has never recognized the opposition’s umbrella organization, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, as the “legitimate representative” of Syrians. And it’s not about to follow the U.S. allies in sending aid to the Free Syrian Army, either.

“After 23 months of violence and 70,000 deaths, the answer to the crisis in Syria is not more violence,” said Rick Roth, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. “Canada is working to address the humanitarian crisis the conflict in Syria has produced.”

Ottawa has long expressed worries about the fractious nature of the Syrian opposition and about Islamist extremists in their midst. In December, when dozens of countries recognized the coalition, Mr. Baird said he was waiting for the opposition to be more inclusive to minorities and women, and denounce extremism.

The Harper government has not changed its stand – essentially, it still doesn’t trust the opposition, or feel confident it can send money to rebels without some of it ending up in the hands of Islamist fighters whom it views as a danger that could live on past the anti-Assad rebellion. Ottawa will still try to work with the Syrian opposition and fund efforts to aid refugees, government sources said, but hasn’t changed its mind on sending aid to rebels.

It’s a stand that has baffled Syrian-Canadian groups. “We don’t really understand the Canadian position,” said Khaled Sawaf, president of the Syrian Canadian Council. It’s one thing to decide not to send weapons to the Free Syrian Army, but there’s no reason to withhold aid like food and medical supplies, he said.

Mr. Kerry said one reason for sending money to the Syrian coalition is to try to counter the influence of extremists. “The stakes are really high. And we can’t risk letting this country, in the heart of the Middle East, be destroyed by vicious autocrats or hijacked by the extremists,” he said…

Now if we could just get Canada to do something about unfortunate investment activities in the Sudan…

Cash for Karzai in suitcases, backpacks, and grocery bags

Good old Uncle Moneybags is back, but this time his sacks are filled with American money for distribution to cronies and warlords.  From the Wall Street Journal yesterday:

Karzai Confirms Accepting CIA Cash Monthly for 10 Years

By JUHANA ROSSI in Helsinki and YAROSLAV TROFIMOV in Kabul

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday acknowledged that his office has been receiving money from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency over the past 10 years, dismissing the monthly cash payments as a “small amount.”

Mr. Karzai addressed the issue after the New York Times reported on Sunday that the CIA has made tens of millions of dollars in secret payments, often cash packed in shopping bags, as it sought to maintain influence over Afghanistan’s mercurial leader.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, here in Brussels last week, Monday confirmed that his government has been receiving CIA money for a decade, but dismissed it as a ‘small amount.’

“Yes, the office of the national security has been receiving support from the United States for the past 10 years,” Mr. Karzai told reporters at a news briefing in Helsinki, Finland, responding to a question about whether he has received CIA cash. “Monthly. Not a big amount. A small amount which has been used for various purposes.”

The CIA declined to comment on the matter.

Mr. Karzai, who is touring Northern Europe, made the remarks following his meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.

The U.S. isn’t the only country to supply the Afghan presidential palace with secret money. In 2010, Mr. Karzai acknowledged receiving bags full of euros from the government of Iran.

Afghan officials have said that these secret funds have been used by the president to reward supporters and buy loyalty from tribal leaders…

Time to take a second look at the proposal to cease foreign aid in Afghanistan?  Or is that still considered “a bit dramatic“?

By the way, if a U.S. company did what a federal agency has done by transferring money to Karzai, that company would be prosecuted under the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Money Jihad has previously covered the money that Hamid Karzai received from Iran here.