Newsweek says it'a a "conspiracy theory" that CAIR is trying to spread jihad

Journalistic irresponsibility and bias example #281,328,616, from "Know Your Conspiracies" in Newsweek, February 12 (thanks to Daniel). Number Nine on this list of crackpot conspiracy theories comes this gem:

9. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is trying to infiltrate Capitol Hill and spread jihad.

Author Dave Gaubatz alleges that the mainstream group is both connected to Islamist terrorists and international jihad and is working to infiltrate the American government by placing interns on Capitol Hill.
Proponents: Dave Gaubatz, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), Joseph Farah.
Kernel of Truth? CAIR has tried to place interns on Capitol Hill, but as it points out, that's standard practice for advocacy groups of all types and allegiances. There's no proof of sinister motives or an effort to encourage international jihad.

Kernel of Truth? Kernel of Half-Truth is more like it. Newsweek does not see fit to mention that CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case -- so named by the Justice Department. It says nothing about how CAIR operatives have repeatedly refused to denounce Hamas and Hizballah as terrorist groups. Also mentioned is the fact that several former CAIR officials have been convicted of various crimes related to jihad terror, and that CAIR's cofounder and longtime Board chairman (Omar Ahmad), as well as its chief spokesman (Honest Ibe Hooper), have made Islamic supremacist statements.

It's all just a conspiracy theory, you see, you greasy Islamophobes. So I guess CAIR is not an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas funding case. And that it has condemned Hamas and Hizballah as terror groups. And that none of its formal officials have been convicted of terror activities. We can relax and go back to sleep, because Newsweek says that everything is A-OK.

| 28 Comments
del.icio.us | Digg this | Email | FaceBook | Twitter | Print | Tweet

28 Comments

I saw this article and my JAW DROPPED.

Did this reporter even READ Gaubatz's book???

Does this reporter even KNOW how to check facts???

Amazing.

To write for Newsweek and all the other leftist PC rags , is it a corporate requirement to be a numb skull?

Par for the course. NEWSWEEK is worthless.

Richard Nixon was an unindicted co-conspirator. Perhaps the august scholar Robert Spencer may try a new tactic to shame the already useless CAIR. It's like watching to mangy dogs bark at each other.

Newsweek has long since jumped the shark, going way beyond even the soft-peddling of Jihad by much of the MSM.

This, from 2007, advises readers that Muslims are "one of America's greatest strengths":

http://www.newsweek.com/id/32868

Their only real problem is "Islamophobic" Americans.

Here, from 2009, is Newsweek telling those concerned about Eurabia that there is nothing to worry about:

"Why Fears Of A Muslim Takeover Are All Wrong"

http://www.newsweek.com/id/206230

Also from 2009 is Fareed Zakaria's infamous cover story, "Learning to Live With Radical Islam"

The article is subtitled: "We don't have to accept the stoning of criminals. But it's time to stop treating all Islamists as potential terrorists."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/187093

At this point, it's not just "living with Islam", but "living with radical Islam". Go back to sleep, you Islamophobes—everything is juuuuuust fine...

What is an "unindicted" co-conspirator?

Here's a definition from Wikepedia -- maybe lawyers out there can comment.

An unindicted co-conspirator is a person or entity that is alleged in an indictment to have engaged in conspiracy, but who is not charged in the same indictment. Prosecutors choose to name persons as unindicted co-conspirators for a variety of reasons including grants of immunity, pragmatic considerations, and evidentiary concerns.

The United States Attorneys' Manual generally recommends against naming unindicted co-conspirators, although their use is not generally prohibited by law or policy.[1] Some commentators have raised due process concerns over the use of unindicted co-conspirators.[2] Although there have been few cases on the subject, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed these concerns in United States v. Briggs.[3]

The term unindicted co-conspirator was familiarized in 1974 when then president Richard Nixon was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in indictments stemming from the Watergate Investigation.

So it means the prosecutors are alleging that the co-conspirator was involved in the crime. But for one or another reason, a choice was made not to prosecute.


The definition leaves more questions than it answers.

Who owns Newsweep? Who hired Fareed Zakaria?

Meanwhile, Fox is full of Tiger BS, I guess that's really important.

With all the dirt on CAIR that Chris Gaubatz provided the FBI last year, there should be plenty to turn that un-indicted co-conspirator into an indicted one. ; )

With a Muslim editor/columnist since 2000, it is obligatory for NW to regularly sing "Islam means peace" lullabies to put the Infidels back to sleep, whenever there's a danger of their waking up. Seems to have worked well, so far.

Always nice when the rags that are supposed to be keeping an eye on the government let us know that government duplicity is just a big 'conspiracy theory'.

Kind of like stories of the government training Nicaraguan terrorists to kill civilians and peasants, or the government covertly trading with Iran. Silly stuff. Except for that whole Iran-contra scandal. Oops!

To say that something is a "conspiracy" implies there is some secrecy involved in whatever the group is planning. Yet CAIR's advocacy of sharia law in North America is a matter of public record. There is no conspiracy to this aspect of their activities. Their efforts to establish sharia in North America must, from an Islamic perspective, literally be regarded as "struggle" or jihad, since effort expended by Muslims for the cause of Islam is considered a righteous jihad. In addition, CAIR's propaganda campaign against public critics of Islam is itself evidence of their jihads of tongue and pen. (Why do they spend so much time going after Islam critics, while spending no time on reducing tendencies toward intolerant and militant views within Muslim communities in North America?). CAIR shares the goal of Al-Qaeda et al., which is to establish Islamic sharia law and rule. CAIR and Al-Qaeda are part of the same larger project.

"Kernel of Truth? CAIR has tried to place interns on Capitol Hill, but as it points out, that's standard practice for advocacy groups of all types and allegiances. There's no proof of sinister motives or an effort to encourage international jihad." --from the Newsweek article, emphasis added.

Note that the author of this Newsweek article cites CAIR itself as providing the kernel of truth.

Don't the good people over at CAIR already have a reputation for stating they want America to be "transformed" into an Islamic society where sharia rules?

http://www.anti-cair-net.org/

What part of that can't the good people over at Newsweek understand?

"Does this reporter even KNOW how to check facts???"


Alas, the age of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite are long, long gone.

Well, it is OK for Newsweek to present their view and their facts and arguments, but what I object to is that they try to go against others who also present their views, facts, arguments. People like them are forever on the brakes, denigrating true whistle-blowers, wishing us to avoid the subject, like a hot potatoe.

The topic of Democracy & Islam is hugely important for mankinds future. And there are people who want to dismiss, stop the discussion based on the idea that talking about it is mostly unnecessary fear-spreading, hate-inspiring.

But, I would plead for as many people as possible being reasonably to highly knowledgeable about both Democracy and Islam. And for discussing the matter long enough and good enough. Why not work it out properly and extensively, enabling a majority of people, responsible people, to make a really well-informed choice?

And you know what; I think that that really would replace fear and hate with understanding, respect and some love.

And I think that the ex-Muslims, the Democracy-minded people are often just as or even more informed about both Democracy and Islam than Muslims and their defenders-on-the-ground-of-not-spreading-fear & hate. Who in my opinion effectively shut themselves off on much important relevant information in order to "behave hush-hush".

Be fair; if Newsweek didn't exist, half the country's incompetent pc journalists would be unemployed.

If Jihad succeeds in USA, all our achievements in science, technology, medicine, social norms, constitution, education ... you name it - will be destroyed and buried never to be found again. This is what they did to the Egyptian civilization. We are discovering its greatness through archaelogy. Islam had destroyed and buried it, ostensibly for ever. I do not know where the muslim apologists among us get the idea that islam is harmless. Quite the contrary, it is harmful in the most horribly imaginable way.

Is anyone really surprised at Newsweek? Its just another rag whose reporters are all bleeding heart liberals. Radical muslims love these guys. These fools, along with the ACLU, believe everything they are told, instead of doing research. CAIR has been exposed,, but it doesnt fit into their liberal minds so its called "Islamaphobia". These radicals and their liberal "friends" are using our own system and rights AGAINST us to further their cause. Wake up people, these radicals will behead you on national tv without the blink of an eye, but hey..isnt that their right?

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)
also available in French intro+Chapter 1 so far
‘Le Guide Politiquement Incorrect de l'Islam’ disponible en Français intro+chapitre 1
don' t hesitate to share this with your french speaking friends using social networks buttons available on the website or email share options.
http://www.avraidire.eu/category/islam/robert-spencer-islam/le-guide-politiquement-incorrect-de-lislam-robert-spencer-islam-islam/

The chief editor at Newsweek is a muslim.
As a muslim it is his duty to engage in taquiyya and kitman to throw smart non-muslim people off the scent of true motives of islam.
And he is doing just that.
He is a good muslim.
His imam and his mosque-brothers must be happy.

Traeh, by chance I just posted a comment on another thread about usage of the term "unidicted conspiracy" and how the "unindicted" part of it could be used to divert focus from the underlying actions of ISNA and CAIR. I, too, would be interested in hearing the opinions of any lawyers here about this.

Slamdunk, I was intrigued by your comment about a Muslim editor/columnist at Newsweek (by which I assume you meant Zakaria), so I checked out the other Newsweek bios, as well. After first noting that the "Trusted Partners" listed by Newsweek are MSNBC and the Washington Post, which normally would mean there is no need to read any further to know the spin they put on their stories, I went to the bios page at http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/pr/pages/newsweek-staff-bios.aspx .

It looks like the principal ME correspondent for Newsweek is Babak Dehghanpisheh http://www.newsweek.com/id/32330 .

There is also Nisid Hajari http://www.newsweek.com/id/41947 .

Finally, and perhaps most importantly from the perspective of appreciating the influence that Newsweek exerts in the upper levels of government, there is
Fareed Zakaria http://www.newsweek.com/id/32251 . Please note that according to his bio he "...serves on the board of Yale University, The Council on Foreign Relations, The Trilateral Commission..." The Yale connection suggests he may have played a role in making the recent nomination for the Special Envoy to the IOC.

In scanning through the Newsweek bios I was struck by the previous experience of many on the rather huge staff. Lots of Village Voice and Entertainment Weekly backgrounds. No wonder Newsweek takes the slant that it does.

Speaking of unindicted co-conspirators, a favorite retort I hear sometimes goes like this: "A good prosecutor could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich." You might want to prepare yourself to respond to this bon mot in over-the-board conversation.

About Fareed Zakaria's influence on the upper levels of government: I neglected to mention that he has been the managing editor of Foreign Affairs, which usually carries articles by only the highest ranking officials and opinion makers, and is widely consired to reflect official Washington thinking. In 2008 his new book "The Post-American World," was published. Has anyone read this book to see if it reflects, either subtlely or even overtly, an OIC POV?

""A good prosecutor could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich."

Good and concise summation of my point.

Kinana of Khaybar - Good point! I was going to mention this, but you beat me to it.

Newsweek has CAIR debunking a 'conspiracy' about CAIR...

Did Newsweek actually expect CAIR to admit such a thing? Did Newsweek even bother to research islam at all?

I imagine no one at Newsweek has ever heard of 'taqiyyah'.

DJM wrote:

I imagine no one at Newsweek has ever heard of 'taqiyyah'.
......................

Never heard of "Taqiyya"? Why, some of the fine staff at Newsweek actually practice it themselves!

Leave a Comment

NOTE: The Comments section is provided in the interests of free speech only. It is mostly unmoderated, but comments that are off topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying stand a chance of being deleted. The fact that any comment remains on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Jihad Watch, or by Robert Spencer or any other Jihad Watch writer, of any view expressed, fact alleged, or link provided in that comment.

Site Meter