[lit-ideas] Re: Bullying Iran - New York Times

  • From: "Simon Ward" <sedward@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 22:31:24 -0000

Hey Eric!

What all this says to me is that the US sure is a good place to generate a whole stack of dodgy money. It suggests that the US police and intelligence services are in need of improvement. It suggests that whilst the Hez (you should really do away with a cool nick name for an organisation you're not keen on), while the Hez are capable of infiltrating the US and creating networks for nepharious violent purposes the only evidence that they are doing so are the editorialising notions of media organisations like Fox News. Lastly it makes me question exactly how much Iran is contributing to the Hez when so many of them are in the US trying to raise dodgy money or else smuggle arms out of the country.

Of more interest is the role the US secret services are playing pitting Sunni against Shia in various parts of the middle east.

To use a Fox News approach: CIA responsible for Iraqi Civil War?

No don't get annoyed, it's only a question.


----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Yost" <eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, February 04, 2007 8:19 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Bullying Iran - New York Times


Simon: First I've heard of this one. Source?

Hi, Simon!
The Hez haven't struck at the US directly since they killed
all those Marines in 1983.

The presence of Hezbollah cells in the USA is starting to
make the major media stateside. MSNBC aired a documentary
about a month ago that recounted the story of the accidental
discovery of a Hezbollah cell operating out of North
Carolina. Lots of sophisticated smuggling and financial
manipulation to funnel money overseas.

Now conservative media like Fox are broadcasting concerns
that these US operatives of Haz could conduct strikes here
in the event of a confrontation with Iran.

_____
SAMPLE:


While Americans are still largely focused on Al Qaeda and
Usama bin Laden — who’s presumably rotting away in some cave
— the terrorist group Hezbollah has been setting up shop
right here in America’s heartland. And most Americans don’t
know a thing about it. But we should know more about
Hezbollah — a lot more.

As tensions with Iran are increasing, it’s important to keep
in mind that Hezbollah is largely funded by Iran and has
operated as its tool in terror operations around the world.
As former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte
recently reminded us: “Hezbollah’s self-confidence and
hostility toward the U.S. as a supporter of Israel could
cause the group to increase its contingency planning against
U.S. interests.”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,244002,00.html

_____

This from
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/07/hizballah_activity_in_north_am.php

Brian Hecht of The Investigative Project on Terrorism has
prepared a quick reference guide to major Hizballah and
Hizballah-linked illegal activity in the United States,
Canada and Mexico:

Racketeering, Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing:

* U.S.A. v. Mohamad Youssef Hammoud et al., Charlotte, North
Carolina: 25 individuals charged in connection with
cigarette smuggling, money laundering, credit card fraud,
marriage fraud and immigration violations. Four individuals
were charged with providing “material support or resources
to a foreign terrorist organization,” Hizballah,
specifically providing “currency, financial services,
training, false documentation and identification,
communications equipment, explosives, and other physical
assets to Hizballah, in order to facilitate its violent
attacks.” In 2003, Mohamad Hammoud was sentenced to 155
years in prison, while his brother, Chawki, was sentenced to
51 months.

* U.S.A. v. Elias Mohamad Akhdar et al. (pdf), Dearborn,
Michigan: 11 co-defendants charged with racketeering related
to the Charlotte, North Carolina scheme. In January, 2004,
Akhdar was sentenced to 70 months in prison and was fined
over $2,000,000 after having pled guilty in July, 2003.

* U.S.A. v. Imam Mohamad-Musbah Hammoud, et al., Michigan,
Canada (Ontario, Quebec), Lebanon: In March, 2006, 19
co-defendants charged with a racketeering scheme involving
contraband cigarettes, counterfeit Zig Zag rolling papers
and counterfeit Viagra, counterfeit cigarette tax stamps,
transporting stolen property, and money laundering. A
percentage of the profits derived from the illegal
enterprise were given to Hizballah. On July 7, two of the
defendants, Imad Majed Hamadeh and Theodore Schenk, 73 pled
guilty (pdf). Hamadeh and Schenk face a maximum possible
penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Weapons and Planning:

* U.S.A.. v. Mahmoud Youssef Kourani (pdf), Dearborn,
Michigan: In November, 2003, charged with being a “member,
fighter, recruiter, and fundraiser” for Hizballah. In June,
2005, Kourani was sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison.

* U.S.A. v. Naji Antoine Abi Khalil, Montreal, Quebec; New
York: Canadian/Lebanese dual citizen conspired with an
Israeli, Tomer Grinberg, and charged with attempting to
export military night vision goggles and infrared aiming
equipment to Hizballah. In February 2006, Khalil was
sentenced to 60 months in prison.

* U.S.A. v. Ali Boumelhem, Dearborn, Michigan: Man convicted
in September 2001 of attempting to smuggle two shotguns, 750
bullets and assault weapon parts in a conspiracy to aid
Hizballah, and 5 weapons violations. He was sentenced to 44
months in jail.

Tax Evasion:

* U.S.A. v. Talal Khalil Chahine et. al, Dearborn, Michigan:
Restaurant owner and wife, Elfat El Aouar, in May 2006,
charged with four counts of tax evasion and the concealment
of more than $16,000,000 of cash from the federal
government. The U.S. government, in a written proffer of
evidence (in U.S.A. v. Elfat El Aouar, Cr. No. 06-20248,
EDMI, 5/22/2006), states that Chahine and his wife attended
a fundraising event in Lebanon in August 2002 with Hizballah
Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, a Specially Designated
Terrorist (see page 8), where the two men were the keynote
speakers. The proffer also claims that a search of El
Aouar’s residence turned up a “thank you letter” for
sponsoring 40 “orphans,” as well as images of Chahine and
his family in front of a Hizballah outpost. According to the
proffer, “[t]he government is aware that the sponsorship of
orphans is a euphemism used by Hizballah to refer to the
orphans of martyrs. This is a common public relations and
recruitment tool used by Hizballah. Hizballah gains favor
with the public in Lebanon by supporting ‘orphans,’ while at
the same time recruiting others into the terrorist
organization willing to sacrifice their lives in terrorist
operations based in part on the promise that Hizballah will
take care of their families.” The government has yet to
charge Chahine or his wife with any terrorism-related offense.

Drug Running:

* U.S.A. v. Mohammad Shabib, Cleveland, Ohio: Federal
prosecutors charged Mohammad Shabib with hiding his role in
a drug ring which profits were funneled to Hizballah.
Shabib, a gas station owner, had $8,000,000 in a Chicago
bank account, which authorities say Shabib amassed by
shipping roughly 3 tons of pseudoephedrine from Canada to
California, which he would sell to Mexican gangs who would
use the drugs to produce methamphetamine. (See: Amanda
Garrett, “Terrorists’ Money Takes Convoluted Path in U.S.,”
The Cleveland Dealer, January 18, 2004).

Mexico: Human Trafficking:

* Mexico v. Salim Boughader Mucharrafille, Tijuana, Mexico:
Boughader, proprietor of a Lebanese restaurant in Mexico,
ran a smuggling ring into the U.S. Before he was arrested in
December 2002, Boughader had trafficked roughly 200 Lebanese
nationals, including Hizballah-linked individuals, across
the border and into the U.S. Boughader admitted transporting
a former employee of al-Manar television, which is owned and
operated by Hizballah and currently designated by the U.S.
government as a terrorist entity. Boughder is quoted as
saying, “[f]or us, Hezbollah are not terrorists."

Other:

* U.S.A. v. Nemr Ali-Rahal et. al. (pdf), Dearborn,
Michigan: Husband and wife pled guilty in January 2006 to
credit card and bank fraud worth more than $500,000.
Ali-Rahal was sentenced to 33 months in prison (see right
side text box). While he was not charged with any terrorism
related offenses, when FBI agents arrested Ali-Rahal, they
discovered, in his home, Hizballah-related materials
including a videotape of a 2002 Hizballah rally in Lebanon
at which Rahal was present in Lebanon, as well as a
collection of books, posters and videos including one titled
“A Martyr Speaks About Martyrs” and a photo showing Rahal
burning an American flag.

* Hizballah-linked Counterfeit Goods Ring in Los Angeles
(pdf), Los Angeles, CA: Testimony of Lieutenant John C.
Stedman, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, May 25,
2005: “There are also indicators that some associates of
terrorist groups may be involved in (Intellectual Property
Right/)IPR crime. During the course of our investigations,
we have encountered suspects who have shown great affinity
for Hezbollah and its leadership. The following are just two
examples: during the search of a residence pursuant to an
IPR related search warrant, I saw small Hezbollah flags
displayed in the suspect’s bedroom. Next to the flags was a
photograph of Hassan Nasrallah whom I recognized as the
leader of Hezbollah. The suspect’s wife asked me if I knew
the subject of the photograph. I identified Nasrallah and
the wife said, ‘We love him because he protects us from the
Jews’. Also in the home were dozens of audio tapes of
Nasrallah’s speeches. During the search, one of my
detectives also found a locket which contained a picture of
the male suspect on one side and Sheik Nasrallah on the
other. In 2004, detectives served an IPR search warrant at a
clothing store in Los Angeles County. During the course of
the search, thousands of dollars in counterfeit clothing was
recovered as were two unregistered firearms. During the
booking process, the suspect was found to have a tattoo of
the Hezbollah flag on his arm.”


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