U.S. Officials Suspected Al-Jazeera Ties to Al-Qaeda
We always knew al jizz was "Terror TV." What's scary is that the President of the United States and his coterie of quislings are big fans of the propaganda broadcast network. Complete coverage of Al Jazeera's invasion of the US airwaves and our press conference here (scroll for text and video).
Terror Ties and Muslim Brotherhood Connections: Read the Explosive U.S. Military Document on Al-Jazeera Here (PDF)
The good news is that Comcast has slammed the door on the poison machine, here.
Here's the latest from the tireless fighter and great American, Cliff Kincaid.
U.S. Officials Suspected Al-Jazeera Ties to Al-Qaeda USA Survival
Al-Jazeera is spinning the newly released “Guantanamo files,” saying they show that dozens of enemy combatants detained at the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay were innocent. But that’s not what the previously secret documents say about one high-profile detainee, Sami al-Hajj, an Al-Jazeera journalist released from Guantanamo after legal intervention by his Soros-funded lawyer and protests from human rights and press freedom groups.
The controversial allegations against this former “enemy combatant,” as detailed in this document, are being denounced by al-Hajj’s lawyer as “false and discredited allegations.”
But they show that U.S. officials suspected high-level cooperation between Al-Jazeera and al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. The charges also raise serious questions about why officials of the Obama Administration are currently praising the channel and cooperating with it.
The document says about Sami Muheidine Mohamed al-Haj, known as Sami al-Hajj and Prisoner 345, “His involvement as a money courier, involvement in the transfer of weapons and leadership position within the Muslim Brotherhood, along with his numerous connections made through Al-Jazeera and his pro-jihadist propaganda activities, illustrates his intelligence value.”
The detailed Department of Defense document, posted by WikiLeaks, is designated, “SECRET / / NOFORN / / 20330404DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HEADQUARTERS, JOINT TASK FORCE GUANTANAMO U.S. NAVAL STATION, GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA APO AE 09360”
Dated April 4, 2008, it recommends continued detention under Department of Defense control for the “Guantanamo Detainee” and is signed by U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby. Incredibly, however, al-Hajj was released only about a month later.
After the leak of this secret prisoner document, Al-Hajj was quick to appear on Al-Jazeera English, which is desperately seeking access to U.S. media markets, to once again proclaim his innocence. He says U.S. interrogators repeatedly asked about a link between Al-Jazeera and al-Qaeda.
Al-Hajj says he is happy that his file and others have been released by WikiLeaks. But the document appears to rely on interviews, interrogations, intelligence sources, and foreign intelligence services that cannot be dismissed out of hand. It’s true that some information is presented in the form of accusations that have not necessarily been verified. But other information is presented in an official manner and as a matter of fact.
It bluntly describes al-Hajj employee as a member of al-Qaeda and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. What’s more, the documents include information indicating that Al-Jazeera had a “relationship” with al-Qaeda dating back to 1997 and that the channel was involved in Muslim Brotherhood operations targeting the U.S.
The specific charges about al-Hajj are more controversial and have been disputed. It says, “Detainee was believed to be a money courier for the UBL [Osama bin Laden] network” It cites a foreign government service as saying that the detainee “was a personal acquaintance of UBL.”
“Detainee is reportedly a leader in the Muslim Brotherhood’s Shura council and was involved in plans and operations to distribute weapons, to include Stinger missiles, and financial support to a foreign government service,” it goes on. “It is assessed that detainee worked directly with Taliban Supreme commander Mullah Muhammad Omar to procure the missiles.”
In a bombshell, the document alleges that the U.S. was a target of this terrorist network through banking activities that could potentially launder money for terrorist activities. It says, “Detainee traveled to Qatar to meet with the head of al-Jazeera and Yusef al-Karadavi (a main proponent of the Muslim Brotherhood) to discuss creating a banking system controlled by the ‘brothers’ in European countries, the US, and Canada.” The “brothers” is a term used to describe members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the same group now poised to take power in Egypt after the “revolution” fed by Al-Jazeera’s incendiary coverage.
The name, “Yusef al-Karadavi” appears to be Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Al-Jazeera Arabic personality known for his anti-American and anti-Israel views. He is considered the inspiration forn the Muslim Brotherhood.
Whether al-Hajj actually met with him or not, Qatar sponsors and funds Al-Jazeera and hosted al-Qaradawi until his recent triumphant return to Egypt.
Not surprisingly, the 11-page document shows that the Department of Defense believed that al-Hajj could provide evidence of “Al-Jazeera associations with al-Qaida leaders and activities in support of Islamic militant groups,” as well as information about the Muslim Brotherhood “and its links to extremism.” The document confirms his status as an “enemy combatant” with a “high risk” to the U.S. and of “high intelligence value.”
Al-Hajj, of course, claims he was wrongly detained. The allegations against him were “baseless,” Al-Jazeera claimed on his behalf. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International had urged his release. He now covers human rights issues for the channel.
It has never been clear why he was released from Guantanamo. “With no explanation, U.S. military officials last May [2008] flew him to his native Khartoum, and handed him over to Sudanese authorities,” noted Time magazine.
However, speculation has been that the transfer was made, after six years in custody, for foreign policy reasons having to do with U.S. relations with the Sudan, his native country. The bad publicity over holding a “journalist” in the terrorist detention facility could have been another reason.
His British lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, has a lot of clout, having been a former “Soros Senior Fellow” associated with the controversial left-wing billionaire, George Soros. Smith visited al-Hajj at Guantanamo in 2006. “His interrogators wanted only to turn him into an informant against Al Jazeera,” Smith claimed at the time.
Smith’s task, as a recipient of a “Soros Justice Fellowship,” was to “organize a coalition to promote enforcement of constitutional and human rights in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (home of a U.S. military base and prison); to produce a best-practices manual for litigating the cases before military commissions; and to write about a selection of Guantanamo prisoners.”
But it doesn’t seem to matter for Al-Jazeera whether the charges are true or not. The channel defended Al-Jazeera reporter Tayseer Alouni, who was charged, convicted and sentenced to prison in Spain for being an agent of Al-Qaeda. Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon alleged that Tayseer Alouni was involved with an al-Qaeda terror cell that helped plan the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. He had been a correspondent for Al-Jazeera in Afghanistan before the U.S. invasion after 9/11.
The New York Times did not spin the documents in the same way as Al-Jazeera. It reported, “The documents show that a major reason a Sudanese cameraman for Al Jazeera, Sami al-Hajj, was held at Guantánamo for six years was for questioning about the television network’s ‘training program, telecommunications equipment, and newsgathering operations in Chechnya, Kosovo, and Afghanistan,’ including contacts with terrorist groups. While Mr. Hajj insisted he was just a journalist, his file says he helped Islamic extremist groups courier money and obtain Stinger missiles and cites the United Arab Emirates’ claim that he was a Qaeda member. He was released in 2008 and returned to work for Al Jazeera.”
His “file” is absolute dynamite at a time when Al-Jazeera is currying favor with the U.S. media establishment.
Showing posts with label UAE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UAE. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
FBI Catches POTUS Smuggling to Iran
U.S. businessman and his New York-based company and two others and their company in California were indicted today in Washington, D.C., on charges of illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of computer-related equipment from the United States to Iran via the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Jeng “Jay” Shih, 53, a U.S. citizen, and his Queens, New York company, Sunrise Technologies and Trading Company, were indicted in the District of Columbia on 27 counts relating to the illegal export of computer-related equipment to Iran without first having obtained the required license from the Department of Treasury.
The indictment charges Shih and his company with one count of conspiracy; 13 counts of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA); 13 counts of making or causing to be made false statements to the United States; and one allegation for criminal forfeiture of property and proceeds derived from these offenses.
Shih was arrested on a criminal complaint in New York on April 6, 2011, and had his initial appearance in court in New York on April 7, 2011. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each of the IEEPA counts and five years for each false statement count.
In addition, Massoud Habibion, 48, aka “Matt Habibion” and “Matt Habi,” and Mohsen Motamedian, 43, aka “Max Motamedian” and “Max Ehsan,” both U.S. citizens, and their Costa Mesa, California, company, Online Micro LLC, were indicted in the District of Columbia on 32 counts relating to the illegal export of computer-related equipment to Iran without the required license from the Department of Treasury.
Habibion was charged with one count of conspiracy, 14 counts of violating IEEPA, 14 counts of making or causing false statements to the United States and four counts of obstruction of justice. Motamedian was charged with one count of conspiracy, 14 counts of violating IEEPA, 14 counts of making or causing false statements to the United States and one count of obstruction of justice.
Habibion and Motamedian were arrested on a criminal complaint in California on April 7, 2011, and had their initial appearance in court in the Central District of California on April 7, 2011. If convicted, both defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $1 million fine for each of the IEEPA counts, and five years for each false statement and 20 years for each obstruction of justice count.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the Shih criminal complaint, in 2006, Commerce Department agents conducted an outreach visit to Shih’s business in New York where they met Shih and informed him about U.S. laws governing the export of goods from the United States to other countries, particularly embargoed countries like Iran. In April 2010, ICE-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents seized hundreds of laptop computers that originated from Sunrise and were destined for Dubai, UAE. Communications related to these shipments indicated that the purchasers were located in Iran, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit alleges that agents subsequently identified a company in Dubai that was purchasing millions of dollars of computers from U.S. companies for export to Iran, through Dubai. ICE-HSI agents arrested one of the company’s agents, who pleaded guilty in December 2010 and began cooperating with the government. In interviews with agents, this individual indicated that he and his company in Dubai had purchased millions worth of laptops from Shih in recent years for shipment to Iran, averaging $700,000 worth of computers each month. The affidavit alleges that agents also obtained documents indicating that more than 1,000 computers had been shipped by Shih’s company to Dubai and later to Iran, between April 9, 2010, and May 28, 2010, alone.
In February 2011, the cooperating individual met with Shih in New York. In recorded conversations, Shih allegedly told the individual he was aware of the U.S. embargo against Iran and U.S. export control laws. According to the affidavit, Shih also told the cooperating individual how to avoid detection when shipping goods to Iran by using fake invoices and indicated that he treated the seizure of some of his shipments as a “loss” when reporting business income and loses on his U.S. taxes.
The affidavit filed in support of the complaint against Habibion and Motamedian alleges that a company in Dubai, referenced above, purchased millions of dollars worth of laptop computers from Online Micro and that these computers were subsequently shipped to Iran. According to the affidavit, the agent for the Dubai company, who was arrested, pleaded guilty and began cooperating with the government, told federal agents that Habibion and Motamedian sold roughly $300,000 worth of computers to the Dubai company each month and that Habibion and Motamedian fully understood that the computers were destined for Iran.
In December 2010, the cooperating individual met with Habibion and Motamedian, wherein these defendants allegedly instructed the cooperating individual to make fake invoices to conceal that Iran was the destination of the shipments and to indicate that the end-users were in Dubai.
In addition, the affidavit alleges that in a Jan. 5, 2011, meeting, Habibion told the cooperating individual to lie to federal agents about conducting business in Iran, stating, “If they ask you, for instance, ‘Do you do business in Tehran?’ ‘No, I don't have any business in Tehran. I go there to visit my family, but I have no business there.’ They will ask such questions, it is part of their routine.”
ANOTHER VERSION
WASHINGTON – Three U.S. citizens and their two companies were indicted on Thursday for illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of computers to Iran via the United Arab Emirates, the Justice Department said.
It said Jeng Shih, 53, and his New York company, Sunrise Technologies and Trading Company, were charged with 27 counts over exports of the equipment without obtaining the required Treasury Department licenses.
Massoud Habibion, 48, and Mohsen Motamedian, 43, and their firm in Costa Mesa, California, Online Micro LLC, also were indicted in federal court in Washington, D.C., on 32 counts for illegal exports, conspiracy, false statements and obstructing justice.
As part of the investigation, U.S. government agents identified a company in Dubai that had purchased computers worth millions of dollars from U.S. companies for export to Iran, through Dubai, Justice Department officials said.
They said one of the Dubai company's employees, who was not identified, pleaded guilty in U.S. court and began cooperating in the investigation.
The employee said laptops worth millions of dollars had been purchased from Shih for shipment to Iran, averaging $700,000 worth of computers each month, the officials said.
Federal agents also obtained documents that more than 1,000 computers had been shipped by Shih's company to Dubai and later to Iran just in April and May last year.
In February, the employee met with Shih in New York and recorded conversations in which Shih allegedly said how he used fake invoices on shipments to Iran, the officials said.
They said the Dubai company also bought laptops worth millions of dollars from the California firm for shipment to Iran.
The employee said Habibion and Motamedian sold about $300,000 worth of computers to the Dubai company each month and knew that the computers were going to Iran.
At a January 5 meeting, Habibion allegedly told the employee to lie to federal agents about doing business in Iran, urging him to say, "I go there to visit my family, but I have no business there," according to court documents.
Alan note: There are reportedly other "players" in this activity and possibly a South America transit point.
ALSO recently:
Iranian man accused of illegal metal exports
By Nedra Pickler
February 1, 2011
WASHINGTON — U.S. authorities announced Tuesday that they have charged an Iranian businessman who they say acted as a "lifeline" to his country's missile program by smuggling metals and other vital materials from the United States in violation of a trade embargo.
The Justice Department said 36-year-old Milad Jafari is at large and believed to be in Iran. He was secretly charged with conspiracy, illegal export and smuggling last July and the 11-count indictment was unsealed Tuesday.
Federal officials said Jafari ran businesses in Istanbul and Tehran that would buy metals like steel and aluminum alloy from U.S. companies and export them through Turkey to hide their true destination, since exports to Iran are prohibited without authorization from the Treasury Department. The Treasury Department said that between 2007 and late 2008, Jafari's network facilitated more than $7 million in transactions for subordinates of Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization.
The Treasury Department described a family procurement business run by Jafari; his father Mohammad Javad Jafari; and brother, Mani Jafari; with his mother, Mahin Falsafi, handling the network's bank accounts. Jafari's Turkish associates, Muammer Kuntay Duransoy and Cagri Duransoy, helped with the transactions, Treasury said.
The Treasury Department on Tuesday designated the six individuals and five companies in the Jafari network as proliferators of weapons of mass destruction which freezes their assets in the United States in an attempt to isolate them from doing further business in this country.
"The Jafari network has established itself as a lifeline for Iran's missile program by providing essential materials and support for AIO," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
The indictment alleged that in July 2006 Sanam Industrial Group, a subordinate of the AIO that has been sanctioned by the United States and United Nations for involvement in nuclear and ballistic missile activities, had requested that Jafari's company get a quote for 660 pounds of specialized steel welding wire. Less than a year later, Jafari's company paid a Nevada company $38,000 for that exact order while assuring the company that the wire would not be exported from Turkey or used for nuclear or ballistic weapons-related applications, the indictment said.
The charging documents also said that in 2007, Jafari's company ordered 4,410 pounds of high-grade, temperature-resistant stainless steel used in aerospace applications from an Ohio company, assuring the seller that it would not be shipped to Iran. The indictment said that a year earlier, Heavy Metals Industries in Iran placed an order with Jafari's company for 3,410 pounds of precipitation hardening steel.
Both shipments were detained by the Department of Commerce's Office of Export Enforcement before they left the United States.
But the indictment said Jafari and his associates were able to get several other shipments of other materials to Iran via Turkey. Those shipments included 1,366 pounds of commercial bronze bars from Texas, electronic testing equipment from Illinois and 6.6 pounds of custom-made brazing alloy from a California company. The indictment also noted that Jafari arranged to export fiber-optic equipment from Pennsylvania and aerosol generators from Minnesota.
The indictment sought forfeiture of $177,867.92 in connection with Jafari's alleged crimes
"Shutting down the illegal acquisition of material destined for use in weapons programs is among the highest priorities in the FBI," said Sean Joyce, executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch that investigated the case. "We'll continue to pursue illegal acquisition efforts and protect our nation from the grave threat these WMD-related activities pose to our national security."
J Kouri, Anti-Mullah
Jeng “Jay” Shih, 53, a U.S. citizen, and his Queens, New York company, Sunrise Technologies and Trading Company, were indicted in the District of Columbia on 27 counts relating to the illegal export of computer-related equipment to Iran without first having obtained the required license from the Department of Treasury.
The indictment charges Shih and his company with one count of conspiracy; 13 counts of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA); 13 counts of making or causing to be made false statements to the United States; and one allegation for criminal forfeiture of property and proceeds derived from these offenses.
Shih was arrested on a criminal complaint in New York on April 6, 2011, and had his initial appearance in court in New York on April 7, 2011. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each of the IEEPA counts and five years for each false statement count.
In addition, Massoud Habibion, 48, aka “Matt Habibion” and “Matt Habi,” and Mohsen Motamedian, 43, aka “Max Motamedian” and “Max Ehsan,” both U.S. citizens, and their Costa Mesa, California, company, Online Micro LLC, were indicted in the District of Columbia on 32 counts relating to the illegal export of computer-related equipment to Iran without the required license from the Department of Treasury.
Habibion was charged with one count of conspiracy, 14 counts of violating IEEPA, 14 counts of making or causing false statements to the United States and four counts of obstruction of justice. Motamedian was charged with one count of conspiracy, 14 counts of violating IEEPA, 14 counts of making or causing false statements to the United States and one count of obstruction of justice.
Habibion and Motamedian were arrested on a criminal complaint in California on April 7, 2011, and had their initial appearance in court in the Central District of California on April 7, 2011. If convicted, both defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $1 million fine for each of the IEEPA counts, and five years for each false statement and 20 years for each obstruction of justice count.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the Shih criminal complaint, in 2006, Commerce Department agents conducted an outreach visit to Shih’s business in New York where they met Shih and informed him about U.S. laws governing the export of goods from the United States to other countries, particularly embargoed countries like Iran. In April 2010, ICE-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents seized hundreds of laptop computers that originated from Sunrise and were destined for Dubai, UAE. Communications related to these shipments indicated that the purchasers were located in Iran, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit alleges that agents subsequently identified a company in Dubai that was purchasing millions of dollars of computers from U.S. companies for export to Iran, through Dubai. ICE-HSI agents arrested one of the company’s agents, who pleaded guilty in December 2010 and began cooperating with the government. In interviews with agents, this individual indicated that he and his company in Dubai had purchased millions worth of laptops from Shih in recent years for shipment to Iran, averaging $700,000 worth of computers each month. The affidavit alleges that agents also obtained documents indicating that more than 1,000 computers had been shipped by Shih’s company to Dubai and later to Iran, between April 9, 2010, and May 28, 2010, alone.
In February 2011, the cooperating individual met with Shih in New York. In recorded conversations, Shih allegedly told the individual he was aware of the U.S. embargo against Iran and U.S. export control laws. According to the affidavit, Shih also told the cooperating individual how to avoid detection when shipping goods to Iran by using fake invoices and indicated that he treated the seizure of some of his shipments as a “loss” when reporting business income and loses on his U.S. taxes.
The affidavit filed in support of the complaint against Habibion and Motamedian alleges that a company in Dubai, referenced above, purchased millions of dollars worth of laptop computers from Online Micro and that these computers were subsequently shipped to Iran. According to the affidavit, the agent for the Dubai company, who was arrested, pleaded guilty and began cooperating with the government, told federal agents that Habibion and Motamedian sold roughly $300,000 worth of computers to the Dubai company each month and that Habibion and Motamedian fully understood that the computers were destined for Iran.
In December 2010, the cooperating individual met with Habibion and Motamedian, wherein these defendants allegedly instructed the cooperating individual to make fake invoices to conceal that Iran was the destination of the shipments and to indicate that the end-users were in Dubai.
In addition, the affidavit alleges that in a Jan. 5, 2011, meeting, Habibion told the cooperating individual to lie to federal agents about conducting business in Iran, stating, “If they ask you, for instance, ‘Do you do business in Tehran?’ ‘No, I don't have any business in Tehran. I go there to visit my family, but I have no business there.’ They will ask such questions, it is part of their routine.”
ANOTHER VERSION
WASHINGTON – Three U.S. citizens and their two companies were indicted on Thursday for illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of computers to Iran via the United Arab Emirates, the Justice Department said.
It said Jeng Shih, 53, and his New York company, Sunrise Technologies and Trading Company, were charged with 27 counts over exports of the equipment without obtaining the required Treasury Department licenses.
Massoud Habibion, 48, and Mohsen Motamedian, 43, and their firm in Costa Mesa, California, Online Micro LLC, also were indicted in federal court in Washington, D.C., on 32 counts for illegal exports, conspiracy, false statements and obstructing justice.
As part of the investigation, U.S. government agents identified a company in Dubai that had purchased computers worth millions of dollars from U.S. companies for export to Iran, through Dubai, Justice Department officials said.
They said one of the Dubai company's employees, who was not identified, pleaded guilty in U.S. court and began cooperating in the investigation.
The employee said laptops worth millions of dollars had been purchased from Shih for shipment to Iran, averaging $700,000 worth of computers each month, the officials said.
Federal agents also obtained documents that more than 1,000 computers had been shipped by Shih's company to Dubai and later to Iran just in April and May last year.
In February, the employee met with Shih in New York and recorded conversations in which Shih allegedly said how he used fake invoices on shipments to Iran, the officials said.
They said the Dubai company also bought laptops worth millions of dollars from the California firm for shipment to Iran.
The employee said Habibion and Motamedian sold about $300,000 worth of computers to the Dubai company each month and knew that the computers were going to Iran.
At a January 5 meeting, Habibion allegedly told the employee to lie to federal agents about doing business in Iran, urging him to say, "I go there to visit my family, but I have no business there," according to court documents.
Alan note: There are reportedly other "players" in this activity and possibly a South America transit point.
ALSO recently:
Iranian man accused of illegal metal exports
By Nedra Pickler
February 1, 2011
WASHINGTON — U.S. authorities announced Tuesday that they have charged an Iranian businessman who they say acted as a "lifeline" to his country's missile program by smuggling metals and other vital materials from the United States in violation of a trade embargo.
The Justice Department said 36-year-old Milad Jafari is at large and believed to be in Iran. He was secretly charged with conspiracy, illegal export and smuggling last July and the 11-count indictment was unsealed Tuesday.
Federal officials said Jafari ran businesses in Istanbul and Tehran that would buy metals like steel and aluminum alloy from U.S. companies and export them through Turkey to hide their true destination, since exports to Iran are prohibited without authorization from the Treasury Department. The Treasury Department said that between 2007 and late 2008, Jafari's network facilitated more than $7 million in transactions for subordinates of Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization.
The Treasury Department described a family procurement business run by Jafari; his father Mohammad Javad Jafari; and brother, Mani Jafari; with his mother, Mahin Falsafi, handling the network's bank accounts. Jafari's Turkish associates, Muammer Kuntay Duransoy and Cagri Duransoy, helped with the transactions, Treasury said.
The Treasury Department on Tuesday designated the six individuals and five companies in the Jafari network as proliferators of weapons of mass destruction which freezes their assets in the United States in an attempt to isolate them from doing further business in this country.
"The Jafari network has established itself as a lifeline for Iran's missile program by providing essential materials and support for AIO," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
The indictment alleged that in July 2006 Sanam Industrial Group, a subordinate of the AIO that has been sanctioned by the United States and United Nations for involvement in nuclear and ballistic missile activities, had requested that Jafari's company get a quote for 660 pounds of specialized steel welding wire. Less than a year later, Jafari's company paid a Nevada company $38,000 for that exact order while assuring the company that the wire would not be exported from Turkey or used for nuclear or ballistic weapons-related applications, the indictment said.
The charging documents also said that in 2007, Jafari's company ordered 4,410 pounds of high-grade, temperature-resistant stainless steel used in aerospace applications from an Ohio company, assuring the seller that it would not be shipped to Iran. The indictment said that a year earlier, Heavy Metals Industries in Iran placed an order with Jafari's company for 3,410 pounds of precipitation hardening steel.
Both shipments were detained by the Department of Commerce's Office of Export Enforcement before they left the United States.
But the indictment said Jafari and his associates were able to get several other shipments of other materials to Iran via Turkey. Those shipments included 1,366 pounds of commercial bronze bars from Texas, electronic testing equipment from Illinois and 6.6 pounds of custom-made brazing alloy from a California company. The indictment also noted that Jafari arranged to export fiber-optic equipment from Pennsylvania and aerosol generators from Minnesota.
The indictment sought forfeiture of $177,867.92 in connection with Jafari's alleged crimes
"Shutting down the illegal acquisition of material destined for use in weapons programs is among the highest priorities in the FBI," said Sean Joyce, executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch that investigated the case. "We'll continue to pursue illegal acquisition efforts and protect our nation from the grave threat these WMD-related activities pose to our national security."
J Kouri, Anti-Mullah
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
UAE Ambassador Calls for Bombing Iran Nuke Facilities
The United Arab Emirates' ambassador to Washington has called for bombing Iran's nuclear facilities, saying that the benefits would outweigh the short-term costs. In unusually blunt remarks, Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba publicly endorsed the use of the military option for countering Iran's nuclear program, if sanctions fail to stop the country's quest for nuclear weapons.Hmmm.
"I think it's a cost-benefit analysis," Mr. al-Otaiba said. "I think despite the large amount of trade we do with Iran, which is close to $12 billion - there will be consequences, there will be a backlash and there will be problems with people protesting and rioting and very unhappy that there is an outside force attacking a Muslim country, that is going to happen no matter what."
"If you are asking me, 'Am I willing to live with that versus living with a nuclear Iran?,' my answer is still the same: 'We cannot live with a nuclear Iran.' I am willing to absorb what takes place at the expense of the security of the UAE."
Mr. al-Otaiba's comments came in response to a question after a public interview session at the Aspen Ideas Festival here. They echo those of some Arab diplomats who have said similar things in private to their American counterparts but never this bluntly in public. The remarks surprised many in the audience.
Read it all. He said everything in public that we have been told Arab leaders are saying in private for the last two years. Ouch.
Israel Matzav
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