Arabic television station and satellite network launched in 1996, funded by Emir of Qatar

Known as the "CNN of the Arab world" and "Jihad TV," it claims to have 50 million viewers

9-11 terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden's outlet for video messages

Its Spanish reporter was arrested for terrorist ties to bin Laden's Al Qaeda

At least two of its Iraqi reporters and one executive had secret connections with, and apparently worked for, Saddam Hussein's intelligence service

Praised Democratic candidate John Kerry and did positive reporting from 2004 Democratic National Convention

Gave airtime to racist David Duke to claim that Jews knew in advance of 9-11 attack on World Trade Center and stayed away

Described Islamist suicide-homocide bombers in Israel as "martyrs"

What would be wrong with attacking an anti-American propaganda-mouthpeice that feeds Arab hatred of the United States?

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today welcomed a ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that rejected claims that students at a California school were being "indoctrinated" during lessons about Islam.

The court rejected a lawsuit by two Christian families that accused the Byron Union School District of unconstitutionally endorsing religious practices. "The Islam program activities were not overt religious exercises that raise Establishment Clause concerns," said the three-judge panel.

In 2003, a U.S. District Judge ruled in favor of the school district. Thursday's appeals court decision upheld that ruling.

"We welcome the court's recognition that the learning process can include information about different faiths and cultures without being considered an endorsement of a particular set of religious beliefs or practices," said Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed.

A number of other CAIR officials have been charged with, and some convicted of, offenses related to the support of Islamist terrorism.

On February 2, 1995, CAIR advisory board member Imam Siraj Wahaj was named by the Office of the U.S. Attorney as one of several "unindicted persons who may be alleged as co-conspirators in the attempt to blow up New York City monuments," including the World Trade Center in 1993. He has called for replacing the American government with an Islamic caliphate, warned that America will crumble unless it submits to Islam, and was a character witness during Abdel-Rahman's World Trade Center bombing trial.

On December 18, 2002, Ghassan Elashi, a founding board member of CAIR-Texas and a co-founder of the Holy Land Foundation, was arrested by the FBI on charges of having ties with front groups that fund Islamic terrorism. In 2005, Elashi and two of his brothers were convicted on 21 counts of federal terrorism charges related to funding Hamas and the illegal export of electronics equipment to U.S. State Department-designated state sponsors of terrorism.

In January 2003, CAIR's director of community relations and founder of the Islamic Assembly of North America, Bassem Khafagi, was arrested by the FBI on charges of having ties to front groups that fund Islamist terrorism. Khafagi pleaded guilty to charges of visa and bank fraud, and agreed to be deported to Egypt.

In August 2003, CAIR's former civil-rights coordinator, Randall "Ismail" Royer, was arrested on charges of possessing "in his automobile an AK-47-style rifle and 219 rounds of ammunition" in September 2001, and conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda and to the Taliban. He pleaded guilty and is serving 20 years in federal prison.

The first manifestation of Hamas’ presence in the United States was the creation
of the Islamic Association for Palestine for North America (IAP) in 1981.16
Founded by Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook, IAP has served as a Hamas
support organization in the United States by publishing Hamas communiqués,
distributing Hamas recruitment videos and hosting conferences raising monetary
and popular support for Hamas. Marzook has been listed by the Treasury
Department as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

Republican lawmakers say that ties between Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and his brother’s lobbying firm, KSA Consulting, may warrant investigation by the House ethics committee.

The calls come as Murtha, a former Marine and pro-military Democrat, has made headlines this week by coming out in support of a rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

According to a June 13 article in The Los Angeles Times, the fiscal 2005 defense appropriations bill included more than $20 million in funding for at least 10 companies for whom KSA lobbied. Carmen Scialabba, a longtime Murtha aide, works at KSA as well.

KSA directly lobbied Murtha’s office on behalf of seven companies, and a Murtha aide told a defense contractor that it should retain KSA to represent it, according to the LA Times.

In early 2004, Murtha reportedly leaned on U.S. Navy officials to sign a contract to transfer the Hunters Point Shipyard to the city of San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A company called Lennar Inc. had right to the land, and Laurence Pelosi, nephew to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was an executive with the firm at that time.

Murtha also inserted earmarks in defense bills that steered millions of dollars in federal research funds toward companies owned by children of fellow Pennsylvania Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D).

[...]

Jennifer Crider, a Pelosi aide, dismissed the allegation that the Minority Leader was involved in anything improper as “absolutely ludicrous, and an attempt to divert from the real issue that Mr. Murtha is attempting to engage in debate on a critically important topic — U.S. policy in Iraq. The real story here is the Republican strategy to try to discredit at Congressman Murtha” while he is pushing for a U.S. pullout from Iraq.

Resolution: Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., on Thursday offered a resolution that would force President Bush to withdraw U.S. troops in Iraq "at the earliest practicable date."

Alternative resolution: Friday, House Republicans planned to put to a vote -- and reject -- a symbolic alternative: "It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately."

"The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date."

I believe before the Iraqi elections, scheduled for mid December, the Iraqi people and the emerging government must be put on notice that the United States will immediately redeploy.