Al Jazeera Indignant Over Cuban-Exile "Terrorist" By Humberto Fontova The Al-Jazeera network is all worked up and indignant over-- terrorism! You read right. Here's the same outfit that proudly pounded its chest for broadcasting (live) the official pronouncements from "Servant of Islam and Muslims, Commander of the Faithful, Mujahid Mullah Muhammad Omar." (You might recall him as the Taliban chief who ruled Afghanistan until the 82nd Airborne burst upon the scene--and I DO mean burst.) On Oct 19, 2001 the good Mullah, as heard on Al Jazeera from Afghanistan via videophone, called upon the faithful worldwide for a jihad against America : "In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate," beseeched the one-eyed Servant of Allah, "we seek revenge against the unjust ones, secretly and publicly! Jihad becomes a requirement for all Muslims in the world. And that is not terrorism!" Al Jazeera is also famous as the venue for Mullah Omar's famous accomplice, Osama Bin Laden, to make his TV appearances, most notoriously the one where he gleefully claimed credit for the 9-11 mass-murder. The Qatar -based network also filmed several suicide bombings in Iraq. Later, U.S. military authorities found it interesting that Al-Jazeera's camera crews had somehow appeared at the site of one bombings well BEFORE the bombings, and had started setting up the cameras and taking light readings. Hummmmm. Al-Jazeera also found a way to film U.S. prisoners being interrogated by Iraqi terrorists. In September 2003, Al Jazeera's most high-profile reporter, Tayssir Allouni, famous for landing the interview with Osama Bin Laden, was arrested and indicted in Spain as a suspected Al-Qaeda bagman or agent. Now this august outfit, in a headline dated 5/11/05, labels Cuban exile and later Venezuelan resident Luis Posada Carriles as "The Cuban Jet Bomber." The article dutifully quotes "President" Fidel Castro (quotation marks mine) as calling Posada "the most famous and cruel terrorist of the Western Hemisphere!" This from the "President" who pleaded, begged and even tried to cajole Kruschev into igniting a Nuclear War, who plotted to set off 500 kilos of TNT in Macy's, Gimbels. Bloomingdale's and Grand Central Station the day of the Macy's parade 1962 (See Fidel; Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant for details and documentation)--this from the "President" who's captive island has served as sanctuary, haven, resort and training center for every terrorist group from, ETA to the IRA to the PLO to the Black Panthers and SDS. The infamous Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, also known as "Carlos the Jackal" (the most adept and murderous terrorist of the '70s,) received his training and later found refuge in Castroland. Is it any wonder "President" Castro finds a handy megaphone in Al Jazeera? From his official babblings lately you'd think Castro himself rides a camel to the Presidential office every morning and dutifully performs his ablutions before a lunch of cous-cous and dried dates. "A world order based on the Koranic model must figure in the agenda of every future forum for alternative world orders!" Castro proclaimed a few years ago. Actually his Islamic realpolitik had started decades earlier. Castro can sniff out and exploit anti- Americanism from ANY source, be it Hollywood, Venezuela or a Persian Mullahcracy. In 1981 when Ayatollah Khomeini's delegation visited Cuba, lifelong atheist Castro hailed "the revolutionary role of Islam!" and invited the Islamic Republic of Iran to open an embassy in Cuba. Then on his famous visit to Teheran in may 2001 Castro crowed, "Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees!" He was arm in arm with the Mullahs at Teheran University at the time, and just cranking up: "One shah remains in the world--the shah of imperialism which is entrenched near my homeland! But as the shah of Iran was overthrown, this shah too will fall!" The same tour took Castro to Malaysia where beside a beaming President Mahatir Mohamad, Castro admitted that he's a "great admirer of the Islamic religion." And if you can't believe Castro, than who can you believe? According to Al Jazeera, Luis Posada Carriles "has been fingered by an FBI informer" as "being behind" the 1976 bombing of a Cubana Airlines jet which had departed from Venezuela. The plane exploded in mid-air and claimed the lives of 73 people. Carriles has applied for asylum in the U.S. The Al-Jazeera story does mention that, "Posada was arrested in Venezuela after the attacks, but he wasn’t convicted before he escaped from prison. " They're right that Carriles "wasn't convicted," but this "CNN of the Arab World" left out an important detail. Their headline labels him outright as "The Cuban Jet Bomber"--yet Carriles was in fact ACQUITTED--and TWICE--of that jet bombing. One acquittal came from a military court, another by a civilian court. Not a word about this from Al Qaeda's favorite news network. So let's await the outcome of their former star reporter, Tayssir Allouni's, trial (currently underway in Spain). Allouni himself has admitted to being "very pessimistic" about his prospects. And let's long for the day when Al Jazeera's valued source, "President" Castro, shuffles into court in handcuffs to answer for his 46 year reign of murder and terror against an entire nation. ****************** Humberto Fontova is the author of "Fidel: Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant," described as "absolutely devastating. An enlightening read you'll never forget" by David Limbaugh. "A remarkable book," says Phil Brennan. "An eye-opener. Fontova explodes myth after myth." David Horowitz says: "Humberto Fontova has performed a valuable service to the cause of decency and human freedom. Every American should read this book."
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