Charles P. Pierce / Esquire Magazine & CODEPINK – 2016-05-26 01:15:39
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a45149/kosovo-extremist-islam-saudi-arabia/
It’s Time to Stop the Saudis
When will we admit that many of our Gulf “allies” are spreading violent extremism worldwide?
Charles P. Pierce / Esquire Magazine
(May 23, 2016) — Back in 1999, the last time we had a President Clinton, the United States and NATO intervened in Kosovo to prevent the slaughter of civilians in yet another of the brutal civil wars that resulted from the dissolution of what used to be Yugoslavia.
The intervention was vigorous enough to draw criticism from, among other organizations, Amnesty International, but it had the desired effect. The slaughter was of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians, most of whom were Muslims, a community that, until all hell broke loose, generally lived in harmony with its Christian neighbors.
I mention all this because, as The New York Times reports, our great good friends, the Saudis, and their affiliated statelets around the Persian Gulf, are doing their best to start the bloodletting all over again.
The mosque is one of scores built here with Saudi government money and blamed for spreading Wahhabism — the conservative ideology dominant in Saudi Arabia — in the 17 years since an American-led intervention wrested tiny Kosovo from Serbian oppression.
Since then — much of that time under the watch of American officials — Saudi money and influence have transformed this once-tolerant Muslim society at the hem of Europe into a font of Islamic extremism and a pipeline for jihadists.
Kosovo now finds itself, like the rest of Europe, fending off the threat of radical Islam. Over the last two years, the police have identified 314 Kosovars — including two suicide bombers, 44 women and 28 children — who have gone abroad to join the Islamic State, the highest number per capita in Europe.
They were radicalized and recruited, Kosovo investigators say, by a corps of extremist clerics and secretive associations funded by Saudi Arabia and other conservative Arab gulf states using an obscure, labyrinthine network of donations from charities, private individuals and government ministries.
Absent western intervention, Kosovo wouldn’t exist today. That doesn’t matter to the purveyors of hate and death. If someone can tell me what benefits — besides cheap oil and the feeling that it can always get worse — the world gains from the continued existence of the governments in the Gulf States, I’d be keen to know.
Any influence over them that might come from us arming these governments is clearly nil. They are authoritarian theocracies, bribing murderers to kill people all around the world so they won’t kill anyone back home. These countries are a blight, and their rulers, largely plutocratic criminals. These are our allies in the fight against terror.
ACTION ALERT: Suing Saudi Arabia
CODEPINK
Last week, we asked you to contact your representatives in Congress to urge them to pass the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) , a bill that would prevent accused foreign sponsors of terrorism from invoking sovereign immunity in cases involving terrorist acts occurring in the United States.
Most importantly, this legislation would allow the families of the victims of 9/11 to hold the Saudi government accountable in a US court of law.
Just hours ago, the Senate passed JASTA by unanimous consent, meaning that not a single Senator objected to its passage! This is a huge victory, and a great sign that Congress can override President Obama’s threatened veto – if we can get the same level of support in the House.
The Saudis have said that if the bill passes they would withdraw $800 billion worth of US Treasury bonds and stop sharing intelligence information about possible terrorist attacks. Tragically, Obama has sided with the Saudis, saying he will veto the bill. We, the people, can’t allow ourselves to be blackmailed by Saudi government thugs.
We have to pass the JASTA bill; then we have to pressure President Obama not to veto it. Send a message to your member of Congress today.
Click here NOW to send your U.S. House member a message asking that they support JASTA (H.R. 3815)!
Tell Congress to Pass the Justice
Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act
The 9/11 families have asked Congress to pass the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), a bill that would prevent accused foreign sponsors of terrorism from invoking sovereign immunity in cases involving terrorist acts occurring in the United States.
The Senate just passed JASTA by unanimous consent, a great sign that victory is within reach! Help get justice for the families of 9/11 victims by urging your House member to support JASTA today!
Please take action using the form below. If you are unable to view it, click here.
VOTE YES on H.R. 3815, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA)
I’m writing to ask that you VOTE YES on passage of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), H.R. 3815, a bill that would prevent accused foreign sponsors of terrorism from invoking sovereign immunity in cases involving terrorist acts occurring in the United States.
The family members of the victims of 9/11 have been waiting for truth and accountability for 15 years. They have been trying to hold the Saudi government accountable for their support of terrorism in a US court of law. But the Saudis have been protected by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. JASTA would make it possible for the family members to sue the Saudi government and hold those responsible accountable.
In spite of the Saudi threat that if the bill passed they would withdraw $800 billion worth of US Treasury bonds and stop sharing intelligence information about possible terrorist attacks, the Senate has passed JASTA by unanimous consent. Tragically, President Obama sided with the Saudis, saying he would veto the bill. We, the people, can’t allow ourselves to be blackmailed by Saudi government thugs.
For justice and closure for the family members of victims of 9/11, I ask that you support passage of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, H.R. 3815, and encourage your colleagues to do the same. I look forward to hearing your views on this issue.
For transparency and justice,
Alice, Alli, Ariel, Chelsea, Janet, Jodie, Marwa, Medea, Nancy, Rebecca, Sam and Tighe
