by Michael Thompson
WASHINGTON – Congress is resisting calls to investigate Al Jazeera, which recently acquired Al Gore’s Current TV, according to Cliff Kincaid, president of America’s Survival.
“It seems logical that the House Homeland Security Committee would look at Al Jazeera as a possible Homeland Security threat, and yet a letter we sent to this committee on January 9 has yet to be received with an official response,” Kincaid said.
He said a committee staffer called him but said arrogantly: ‘We are not listening to you. You aren’t going to drive our agenda.’”
Kincaid said if anyone doubts Al Jazeera should be investigated, “I say, let’s have a congressional hearing.”
“Let’s put the evidence on the record to demonstrate how Al Jazeera works hand and glove with al-Qaida and other terrorist groups,” he said.
Kincaid said his organization “simply wants Congress to do its job.”
“Ever since Current TV and Al Jazeera made this deal, my group has simply said – let’s investigate and see if the law is being followed, or if Al Jazeera is a terrorist organization.”
Kincaid acknowledged the First Amendment protects foreigners from coming into the U.S. and voicing their opinions, “as long as those are done within the limits of the law.”
“The problem with Al Jazeera is they are already evading current laws, and they qualify, in my opinion, as a global terrorist entity,” he said.
He noted that Al Jazeera also has hired a public relations firm to speak on its behalf.
“DLA Piper is huge, global, multinational law firm that represented Al Jazeera in the purchase of Current TV from Al Gore,” he said. “They will now go on Capitol Hill to sell this transaction behind the scenes and behind close doors to soften up any opposition to this deal. They have all the money in the world from Qatar – which backs Al Jazeera – we simply say, ‘give the American people the chance to see the inner-workings of this deal and have some oversight over this deal.”
The move to hire the PR company came on the heels of a press conference held by America’s Survival in Washington, D.C., that questioned why the U.S. government hasn’t conducted a congressional investigation into Gore’s sale of Current TV to the Middle East news organization.
“The Qatar regime advertises itself as ‘America’s Strongest Partner in the Gulf’ but has supported terrorist groups such as al-Qaida, Hezbollah and Hamas,” said Kincaid.
“Osama bin Laden aide and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is currently in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay for acts of terrorism, lived and worked in Qatar but was allowed to leave for Pakistan as U.S. authorities were trying to apprehend him, according to the report of the 9/11 commission,” Kincaid said.
Anti-jihad blogger and activist Pamela Gellar, a WND columnist, and Jerry Kenney also spoke at the America’s Survival press conference. Kenney discussed his filing of a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The complaint alleges Al Jazeera and Russia Today “represent foreign propaganda television networks, which are in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.”
“They have not registered, as is required by law, and are not disclosing that their programs are distributed on behalf of a foreign government,” the complaint states.
With the purchase of Current TV, Al Jazeera extended its reach in the American market to more than 40 million homes.
Former Vice President Al Gore, who stands to make $100 million in the $500 million sale, said in a statement that the Qatar-owned network shares the same mission as Current TV, which is “to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling.”
Kincaid told WND, “In the United States, it is against the law to provide material support to terrorists, with ‘material support’ defined as including expert advice or assistance and communications equipment.”
In World War II, he pointed out, Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally “broadcast their anti-American diatribes from overseas and were apprehended by U.S. authorities after the war and sent to prison for treason.”
“In the more shocking Al Jazeera case, the U.S. is officially still at war with global terrorism, but Al Gore is giving the channel a base of operations on American soil with access to 40-50 million homes,” Kincaid said.
See Kincaid’s interview with WND, Part 1: Continue to see Videos
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