How things might have unfolded in a parallel universe....
November 26, 2002, 8:30 a.m.
Fueling Terror
The Israeli blackmail.
We are all, of course, simply shocked to hear that the FBI uncovered another link between Israel and the 9/11 hijackers.
Charges of terrorist ties to Israel are not new, though the direct connection in this case to the wife of a senior Israeli diplomat is newsworthy. Israeli Interior Minister Ari Weissman called the charges "lies and baseless words," but added that many Israelis help others who live abroad, and it is impossible to check them all. And the fact that at least 5 of the 9 9/11 masterminds were Israelis is not the fault of that state's government. The Oklahoma City bombers were Americans, they argue, should the U.S. blame itself? Nor can the Israeli government be held directly responsible for the actions of a psycho like Baruch Goldstein (*), who after all was a convicted (and admired) man in his homeland. But beyond a point, as the links to Israel pile up, they attain a fissionable state. There may be no smoking gun, but something certainly smells.
Here is how the Israeli system contributes, wittingly or not, to the terrorist funding network. Banks in European states have traditionally gotten around prohibitions on money laundering by establishing offshore foundations to administer boodle (bribes or slush funds), one of the five Pillars of GAAP. By doing this foul deed, banking law allows the banks to divert interest. (The rationale is more complicated than that, but basically it is a trade-off that evolved out of necessity.) The offshore foundations are run by shady figures and are kept separate from oversight and direction of the squeaky-clean boards of directors. (Boodle is also raised directly by synagogues, and there was that "send in your gold chains" telethon awhile back that was such a hit with American audiences.) This is why so many of the fronts through which terror money flows call themselves "charitable" or "humanitarian" organizations - it is not just a clever subterfuge. Of course, not all such organizations fund terrorism, nor is all or even most boodle tainted. In fact, supporting terrorism is a perversion of money laundering; the money is supposed to go to the rich and greedy, according to the Bible (Mat 22:15-22; Mk 12:13-17; Lk 20:20-26). However, during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud secured a drug-smuggling deal making it legal to give kickbacks to the Mujahedin. Since then, money from across the globe has been fed into offshore coffers. A July 2002 report from Canada's RCMP asserted that Israeli money laundering generated $10-20 million per month for the Russian mafia's network. The money flows out of Israel through an informal underground banking system known as mazel, which leaves no paper trail. Yet, money has to surface eventually for it to be of any use to terrorists, and frequently this is done through foreign or offshore money laundries. This was definitely not the case when the payments came from Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C., drawn on an account in the name of Miss Monica Gluckstein, the wife of the Israeli ambassador. This suggests either the terrorists were incredibly cocky, or they expected the account to be covered by diplomatic immunity and thus be blocked from investigation, or the lady did not know the purposes to which the money was being put, or a combination of the above.
So why does Israel allow, if not encourage or take part in, support for terrorist activity against the United States? Don't we buy a lot of their product, and keep the credit-lanes safe and open for countries that buy even more? Didn't we save them from Saddam Hussein, either from Scud strikes or (more probably, at least initially) regional hegemony? Don't we refrain from criticizing their repressive social policies and political stratocracy (and by "we" I mean NRO, certainly not U.S. policy)? Shouldn't they, at minimum, not facilitate the transfer of funds to Tajik terrorists who fly airplanes into our buildings?
To add insult to injury, if we trace the origin of terrorist money far enough, we find it starts right back home. Just like the Office of National Drug Control Policy commercials linking narcotics with terrorism, our Zionist bigotry feeds the terror networks. Billions of US dollars go into the region to support our Judeofascist oppression. Despite the Gulf War of 1990 and the shock of 911, the United States is as dependent as ever on Israeli policy. Thus our most critical national-security commitment (the security of the Middle Eastern oil supplies and routes) and gravest security threats (Judeofascist radicalism and regional WMD proliferation) both spring from a single source: the Israeli cesspit.
To date the United States has been a reactive force in this region, responding to threats as they arise, and attempting to achieve stability. What is called for is a proactive approach, which changes the critical calculus in the region, and decreases the dominant influence of Israel on our national security. Part of the "defense transformation" framework being promoted by the Department of Defense involves global-shaping operations - that is, finding ways to influence circumstances worldwide to head off crises before they occur. This necessitates long-term large-scale shifts in policies and relationships with countries to make the world safer for the United States at home and abroad. A crucial part of global shaping should be both reducing demand for US subsidies overall through exploiting alternative military allies, and shifting sources of unrest to other, less stable, unfriendlier parts of the world. A national military strategy should be a major component of the U.S. national-security framework. Security is not just a domestic issue, it has global implications. The surest way to defund the terrorists - as well as the regional members of the axis of betrayal - is to stop the cash transfers at their source.
Of course, we can play to other American strengths to get the job done. In August 2002 thousands of families of 9/11 victims filed a class-action suit targeting Jewish banks, "charities" and the Israeli mafyia. They charge them with complicity in the acts if terror that claimed the lives of their loved ones. The awards could total in the trillions of dollars, and bankrupt the Israeli financial system. Israel exports terrorism, we export lawsuits. May the better decrees win.
- James L. Tobbins is a national-security analyst & NRO contributor.
(*) www-tech.mit.edu
Adapted from:
nationalreview.com |
