Kerry Campaign Linked to Fund-raiser for Terror Group
Monday, Oct. 25, 2004 8:49 a.m. EDT
As this bitter and partisan election draws to a close, a new bombshell may spell trouble for Senator Kerry. Evidently, he has accepted campaign contributions from the chief fund-raiser for an Albanian terrorist organization known as the Kosovo Liberation Army [KLA, or UCK in Albania].
According to federal election records, Florin Krasniqi, a KLA fund-raiser who had raised over $30 million for the group, contributed $2,000 to the Kerry campaign this past July.
The KLA, whose main objective is to separate Kosovo from Serbia, reportedly has ties to the Iranian government and Osama bin Laden.
In 1999, the Washington Times obtained intelligence documents indicating that al-Qaida has trained and financially supported the KLA.
The Jerusalem Post offered further documentation in 1998, indicating that "Selected groups of Albanians were sent to Iran to study that country's version of militant Islam," and that "millions of dollars have been funneled through Bosnia and Albania to buy arms for the KLA. The money is raised from both Islamic governments and from Islamic communities in Western Europe, particularly Germany."
The leader of the KLA is a man named Hashim Thaci, and he attended the Democratic Party’s convention in Boston earlier this year.
After attending the convention, he raved that "It was a very successful visit at the Democratic Convention, where the PDK [Thachi's political party] had been invited as a guest. It was confirmed once again that the Democratic authorities would recognize and respect the will of the people of Kosovo for self-determination."
Dutch television station VPRO produced a documentary called "De Brooklyn Connectie," which features KLA members attending a John Kerry fund-raiser, making generous contributions, and smuggling weapons for use in Kosovo against U.N. and American forces. |
