Stuart Wagner and Elon Granader at FrontPage shine some light on the latest exploits of former Congressman Paul Findley, who praised Alamoudi in a book years ago and has been one of his foremost proponents.
“September 11 would not have occurred if the US government had refused to help Israel humiliate and destroy Palestinian society.”
This, according to former Illinois Congressman Paul Findley, founding chairman of the Council for the National Interest Foundation (CNIF), a Washington D.C. non-profit organization that claims “to encourage and promote a U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East that is consistent with American values.” While the U.S. has committed itself to crushing the terrorist networks which organize and finance the slaughter of innocents, CNIF and its sister organization, the Council for National Interest (CNI), have repeatedly subverted our national interest through seditious propaganda and associations with individuals who support and preach terror.
One such individual is Abdurahman Alamoudi. Alamoudi sits in a Virginia jail cell facing a 19-count indictment, including federal charges of money laundering and illegal financial transactions with Libya. In addition, he has allegedly provided financial assistance to both Hamas and al-Qaeda and recently revealed his role in Moammar Gadhafi’s alleged plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. Yet, Mr. Alamoudi still serves as a member of the CNIF board of directors and has done so since 1998, according to the group’s website (www.rescuemideastpolicy.com).
CNIF had to have been aware of Alamoudi’s radical views, even before his arrest. Alamoudi made national news when he publicly praised Hamas and Hezbollah at an October 2000 rally in front of the White House: “I have been labeled by the media in New York to be a supporter of Hamas”¦Anybody support Hamas here? Hear that, Bill Clinton? We are all supporters of Hamas. I wish they added that I am also a supporter of Hezbollah.” Both Hamas and Hezbollah were designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the United States in 1995.
One would think that an organization claiming to represent America’s national interests would distance itself from such reckless extremism. However, CNIF has a long record of cozying up to fanatics. A 1999 CNIF press release shows that during a tour of the Middle East, a delegation which included CNIF and CNI”s president, Eugene Bird, met with several incendiary figures, including Nabih Berri (the former head of Lebanon’s notorious Amal terrorist movement), an unnamed “leader in Hizbollah,” and Mahmoud Al-Zahar (a senior official in Hamas). Also in 1999, Richard Curtiss, co-founder of CNI, was the featured speaker at an Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) Jerusalem Festival. IAP has publicly sent out Hamas communiqués, including a Hamas charter calling for jihad against Jews.