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The Spectacle Blog
One month after the September 11 attacks, Tom Campbell accepted a lifetime achievement award from a Muslim group at a conference in which speakers cited poverty and U.S. policy toward Israel as the “root causes” of terrorism.
And in 2000, Campbell, who as now, was running for U.S. Senate in California, raised $35,000 from Muslim groups “grateful for his efforts to cut aid to Israel,” according to a newspaper account at the time.
The American Muslim Alliance held its annual conference in San Jose California on October 14, 2001, and an article from the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, recounted: “In light of Sept. 11… the convention’s focus shifted to urging that the U.S. government re-evaluate its foreign policy—specifically its positions on Israel and Iraq.”
According to the account:
American Muslim leaders have urged the Bush administration to address the root cause of terrorism and re-evaluate its foreign policy in the Muslim world in order to eradicate terrorism….
The U.S. needs to address poverty, illiteracy and other problems in the Muslim world. Speaker after speaker agreed that bombing Afghanistan, supporting a violent Israeli state and placing sanctions on Iraq is no way to end terrorism.
“Killing Osama bin Laden will not be enough,” said AMA vice-chairman Dr. Shabbir Sardar. “Unless we have a fair foreign policy the Osama bin Ladens will keep coming. Our foreign policy has been way too one-sided.”
The account says that Dr. Agha Saeed, leader of the AMA, presented Campbell with a lifetime achievement award. Saeed had already been a controversial figure at this time. In her 2000 Senate campaign, Hillary Clinton returned money raised by the group.
Here’s the New York Times report from October 2000:
Mrs. Clinton said she was offended by remarks attributed to members of the organization, the American Muslim Alliance. The group’s president (Saeed) has been quoted as defending a United Nations resolution that he said allowed for the use of armed force by Palestinians against Israel, while other members have been accused of making anti-Semitic remarks.
During the conference at which he presented Campbell with an award, Agha Saeed declared, “an Osama bin Laden arises where there is poverty and other social ills.”
Back during his 2000 campaign for Senate, according to a Forward article from the time (registration required), the group also helped raise money for Campbell.
More from the Forward:
“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Mercy-Giving, the American Muslim Political Coordinating Council and the American Muslim Alliance of New York request the honor of your presence at the Support Tom Campbell for Senate Fund-Raising Dinner…. Requested Donation $250 per person,” said an invitation to the event. The invitation praised Mr. Campbell’s votes to cut aid to Israel and weaken anti-terrorism legislation. It also stressed his support for a Palestinian-Arab state and opposition to sanctions on Iraq.
So, in 2000, Campbell was raising money from Muslim groups on the basis of his votes against Israel and his views on foreign policy, and now he’s claiming those same positions are being misrepresented. Meanwhile, a month after Sept. 11, he was willing to accept an award from a group that was pushing the view that the root causes of the attacks were poverty in the Muslim world as well as U.S. support for Israel. Either Campbell was misrepresenting himself then, or he’s misrepresenting himself now. It can’t be both.
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Pingback| 2.26.10 @ 11:53AM
CA-Sen: Tom Campbell Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from American Muslim Allianc links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
SoCon| 2.26.10 @ 2:34PM
Uh oh. Nice timing, Tom; what a doofus.
corrupt politics| 2.26.10 @ 5:25PM
There are groups in the U.S. that PAY for Israeli settlement, that do not support a two state solution. Do a run down on their campaign contributions. Those views are not America's official position, not in the strategic interest of the U.S., and some actions by those contributors are illegal. In fact some of those contributors are known spies! There is even Israeli money floating around in our U.S. A. electorate. Do some research on that.
Second point
Not every policy of Israel is in the strategic and security interest of the U.S.A. Care to debate? Settlements in Hebron, the separation wall, (I mean security wall) that encroaches deep in what the entire world, the ICJ the ICC the EU the UN says is Palestinian land. These are all illegal under international law and U.N. resolutions that had the support of the U.S. They are not in the interest of the U.S.A. (A true security wall in territory that is internationally recognized as Israel would help Israeli security and peace) The home demolitions and evictions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are not in the interest of the U.S.A. Give me a plausible argument aside from ones religious views why the U.S. should support these policies by turning a blind eye? (Like the blind eye we've turned for decades) The rest of the world doesn't turn a blind eye and it is killing the U.S. diplomatically!
Third point
Terrorists do use the Israel-Palestinian conflict to recruit for terrorism against the U.S. Is that somehow anti American to know so and point it out? Seems to me that is American as possible. How you gonna kill and defeat terrorist when you don't know how they recruit against you? They will just keep popping up. Blind support doesn't help us fight terrorism. They don't help bring about peace. They don't help us get oil.
Fourth point
I and all Americans should be for a strong Israel to advance U.S. interest. But when aid and support is being used not to advance U.S. interest it must stop! When bully tactics are used to subvert U.S. elections it must be stopped! Foreign relations are about strategic interest. That goes for every country. Why not Israel?
AND last
Your bullying attack dog tactics are a disgrace. Following politics I saw this happen to Chas Freeman earlier this year. Now you are attacking someone else that is supposedly not consistently Pro Likud enough for you. (This guy even has a history of supporting many things AIPAC set up for Israel's benefit) Like there is an Israel litmus test for the U.S.A. government? (Oh wait, there is) This is the U.S.A. This ain't Israel. There should be a litmus test for traitors of the U.S.A. You might qualify!
Janice| 2.26.10 @ 7:51PM
Campbell's a RINO creep--and has been for a long time.
Pingback| 2.27.10 @ 2:22AM
Higher risk, higher deposit for tenant? | Real Estate … | South Dakota Real Estate links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 2.27.10 @ 5:15AM
The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : One Month After 9/11 … USA Cws links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Publius| 2.27.10 @ 5:15AM
I hope Fiorina is being generous with her golden parachute money and being a shill pays well. The fact that Campbell, (speaking then as a law professor as he'd been out of congress about 2 years,) accepted an award from a mainstream Muslim group at a time when Muslims overwhelmingly voted for GW Bush isn't the bombshell you make it out to be.
Here's the entire story in case anyone feels like reading the above quotes in context: http://www.washington-report.o.....vism.html.
Take this statement:
"Addressing the Sept. 11 attacks, AMA chairman Dr. Agha Saeed said, “We support the president in going after these criminals and bringing them to justice. But to create peace,” he added, “we have to do more.”
Dr. Saeed said he was confident that the United States would rebuild Afghanistan, although such an effort had already been delayed by 12 years. The U.S., he said, failed to provide adequate assistance to the war-torn country after the defeat of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. “What we left behind was a failed state,” Dr. Saeed said, adding that “an Osama bin Laden arises where there is poverty and other social ills.”
Or take this quote:
"American Muslims could be a key component in winning this battle—another reason why they must be included in the American political system, said Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. “We are the natural bridge of the United States to the Muslim world,” he said. “If they can see that America is about more than just bombs, that it is about opportunity and freedom and all of the things that we love, then they will not want to hurt us.”
Wow, I'm surprised Campbell made it out of there alive before all these radical jihadists whipped out the dynamite belts and blew themselves up. Hey Phil, I got an exclusive for you, Tom Campbell once received a lifetime achievement award from the American Association of Demon Sheep!
ZerObama| 2.27.10 @ 3:08PM
No 'real' conservative would defend Campbell; the man's untrustworthy.
John Lloyd Scharf| 3.13.10 @ 7:42PM
We were quick to sent stinger missiles to Afghanistan to fight the Russians and fell down on the job to educate them for literacy. That was the point of "Charlie Wilson's War" at the end. Even Iraq, with less than 60% literacy was better than Afghanistan. If literacy does not stabilize nations and cultures, then we are wasting our money on our children at home. We have a literacy of 99% nationally. If you wonder what happens to citizens without literacy, look at the district that produced Dollar Bill Jefferson in New Orleans for Congress. I am not defending Campbell or the American Muslim Alliance at all. I am saying something about our aid that goes to grain and ammo rather than education.
Pingback| 4.9.10 @ 12:53AM
Tom Campbell: Tool of the Muslim Brotherhood? | FrontPage Magazine links to this page. Here’s an excerpt: