That Ought to Be a Homeland Security Crime
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Mar 08, 2007
UNDER the category of "that ought to be a crime," money laundering, theft of public funds, obstructing tax laws and violation of Iraqi sanctions still remain federal offenses.
Putting political correctness aside,
which in itself is difficult to do, a
U.S. branch of an international
Islamic charity and five of its officers, employees or associates have been
indicted for committing such crimes.
A 33-count indictment has been named against the “charity”
group known as the Islamic America Relief Agency, headquartered in Columbia, Mo.
Officially formed in 1985, the group closed its doors in October 2004 when it
was identified by the Treasury Department as a specially designated global
terrorist organization.
Without going into each indicted account, members of the
group conspired to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and
the Iraqi Sanctions Regulations by transferring more than $1.4 million to Iraq
from March 1991 to May 2003. The group and individuals, Mubarek Hamad, 50; Ali
Mohamed Bagegni, 53; Ahmad Mustafa, 54; Khlid Al-Sudanee, 55; and Abdel Azim
El-Siddiq, 50, were indicted for providing financial support to people and
organizations located inside Iraq, using tax exempt status to solicit donations
from the public for that purpose.
Funny thing is, no one could find a single instance where
the money was sent to Iraq
to help the masses of people displaced or that needed help from a charitable
organization.
There is one relief organization alive and well, working
diligently to restore order amid the chaos. It’s the same group that brought
freedom to those same people. The mainstream media rarely offers a glimpse to
anything other than roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices, but did
you know…
Since the liberation of Iraq,
there are now at least 47 counties that have re-established their embassies in Iraq,
and the government now employs 1.2 million Iraqi people. More than 3,100
schools have been renovated and 364 schools are currently under rehabilitation.
More than 38 new schools have been completed while 260 new schools are under
construction in Iraq.
Did you know that Iraq’s higher educational structure
consists of 20 universities, 46 institutes or colleges and four research
centers—all are currently in operation.?
You probably didn’t know this, but 25 Iraq students departed for the United States in January 2005 for
the re-established Fulbright program.
The Iraqi navy is operational with five, 100-foot patrol
craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry regiment. The Iraqi air force
consists of three operational squadrons, which includes nine reconnaissance and
three U.S. C-130 transport aircraft.
Did you know that 96 percent of Iraqi children under the age
of 5 have received the first two series of polio vaccinations and that 4.3
million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by mid-October 2006?
There’s more, but this is what freedom brings. It came
because U.S.
soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen were willing to go into harms way to
bring a better way of truly deserving people.
So, if you want to talk about a charitable organization bringing
relief to Iraq,
it likely isn’t from a group called the Islamic America Relief Agency. If it
were politically correct, we should throw the book at each individual mentioned
above.