(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/17/98) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, is calling on several congressmen to stop wasting taxpayers' money on a congressional task force that is widely dismissed by policy analysts.
According to a recent article in Washington Jewish Week (WJW), The House Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, an unofficial body set up in 1989, has received a total of $338,115 from a small group of conservative Republican lawmakers.
The article reported that critics of the task force say the reports it puts out are alarmist and "full of unsubstantiated information bathed in hyperbole." "A common theme laced throughout their reports is the danger of a worldwide Arab-Muslim conspiracy to destroy Israel and the West," wrote Michael Shapiro, the article's author.
The task force recently gained widespread publicity for a report charging that Saddam Hussein moved weapons of mass destruction to other countries before and after the Gulf War to avoid detection and to protect the weapons from American attacks. The WJW article reported that these claims lacked "verifiable substantiation and logic." White House officials said there was no credible evidence to support the task force's allegation.
Other recent task force gaffes include urgent predictions of a new Mideast war, claims that TWA Flight 800 was brought down by a new international terrorist group formed by Iran and assertions that Muslim fighters in Bosnia would wage a terror campaign in Western Europe.
Yossef Bodansky, the task force's director since its inception, is a native Israeli who became a naturalized American citizen. He is currently associated with the Freeman Center for Strategic Studies in Houston, a group WJW sources described as a "small outfit of people holding right-wing views."
Bodansky's work also includes the 1993 book "Target America," in which he advanced now discredited theories such as allegations that the gunman who killed two people outside CIA headquarters was an Iranian agent "infiltrated into the U.S. for operations in the Washington area..." (5/14/93, Houston Chronicle)
Even a number of pro-Israel writers have denounced Bodansky's work. Daniel Pipes, editor of Middle East Quarterly, called Bodansky's writing "absolutely alarmist and unreliable." Barry Rubin, editor of Middle East Review of International Affairs, said task force reports are the "product of extremists who care nothing for serious research, responsible intelligence assessment, or accurate analysis." (Metro West Jewish News, 2/6/97)
WJW also reported that Republican and Democratic sources close to the House Intelligence Committee checked information contained in task force documents and concluded that much of the information could not be verified and that the body's findings are now generally ignored. The article quoted an Israeli source as saying, "I would not put too much credibility in what (Bodansky) writes."
The task force is now chaired by Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ), described by WJW as "a vocal critic of the Oslo Accords and the Palestinians' lack of compliance with them." According to WJW, Saxton contributed $28,333 to the two-man task force. The group's founding chairman, Rep. Bill McCollum (R-FL) was found to have given $196,970 in taxpayers' funds. Other supporters include Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) who spent $26,933, Rep. Michael Forbes (R-NY), who gave $13,833, and the late Rep. Sonny Bono who chipped in $25,933. According to the article, Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX) also offered financial support to the task force.
The congressmen provided these funds from their personal office budgets.
"The congressmen who provide public funds to support this task force need to explain to their constituents why hard-earned tax dollars are being wasted on inaccurate and inflammatory reports," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Bodansky is similar to Islamophobes such as Steven Emerson who see a so-called Muslim 'fundamentalist' under every bed. They both make a career out of bashing Islam and Muslims," said Awad.
Awad added that his organization will ask Muslim communities in the home states of congressional contributors to ask for concrete answers to their concerns.
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IMMEDIATE ACTIONS REQUESTED:
POLITE and RESPECTFUL notes of concern about this waste of taxpayers' money would be helpful. Hostile or disrespectful comments would be counter-productive and harmful to the image of the Muslim community. If you cannot control your emotions, writing or speech, please DO NOT contact a congressman.
Contacting the congressman from YOUR state or district is most effective. NOTE - The following list includes representatives who have supported the task force in the past. They may or may not be supporting the task force financially at this time.
Rep. Jim Saxton (R-3rd NJ)
ADDRESS: 339 Cannon HOB, Washington DC, 20515
TEL: 202-225-4765
FAX: 202-225-0778
E-MAIL: None
WEB SITE: http://www.aclu.org/vote-guide/523info.html
Rep. Bill McCollum (R-8th FL)
ADDRESS: 2266 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC, 20515
TEL: 202-225-2176
FAX: 202-225-0999
E-MAIL: bill.mccullum@mail.house.gov
WEB SITE: http://www.house.gov/mccollum/
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-52nd CA)
ADDRESS: 2265 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC, 20515
TEL: 202-225-5672
FAX: 202-225-0235
E-MAIL: none
WEB SITE: http://www.aclu.org/vote-guide/306info.html
Rep. Michael Forbes (R-1st NY)
ADDRESS: 416 Cannon HOB, Washington, DC, 20515
TEL: 202-225-3826
FAX: 202-225-3143
E-MAIL: ny01.forbes@mail.house.gov
WEB SITE: http://www.house.gov/forbes/
Rep. Tom Delay (R-22nd TX)
ADDRESS: 341 Cannon HOB, Washington, DC, 20515
TEL: 202-225-5951
FAX: 202-225-5241
E-MAIL: thewhip@mail.house.gov
WEB SITE: http://tomdelay.house.gov/
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