Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Iraq’s Interior Minister Thanks U.S. Troops for Liberating Iraq

Washington (CNSNews.com) – A top Iraqi official visited wounded American troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Tuesday to thank them for their part in ending Saddam Hussein’s rule in his country.

“We have come … to express our gratitude and appreciation for the sacrifices made by these great warriors, soldiers, in freeing the Iraqi people and in helping us in Iraq recover from tyranny and dictatorship,” Jawad Karim al-Bolani, Iraq’s minister of the interior, said through a translator to a handful of journalists in the lobby of the medical center.

“We also want to express our gratitude to the families of all these great men and women and express how important their sacrifices are for our nation,” he added. ...

Textbook Terrorism

Islamofascism: A new study confirms our "ally" Saudi Arabia is still poisoning young Muslim minds with anti-Western textbooks. So? Its hate-filled graduates are enrolling at our colleges.

The Hudson Institute reviewed the 2007-08 textbooks distributed by the Saudi Ministry of Education and found that, despite promised reforms, the kingdom still teaches students to "hate the infidels."

The texts assert that it's "permissible" for a Muslim to kill an "apostate," an "adulterer," a "homosexual," as well as non-Muslims practicing "polytheism," or Christianity.

The violent ideology is introduced in a religion textbook in the first grade and reinforced and developed in following years of the public education system, culminating in the 12th grade where a text instructs students that it's their religious duty to do battle against infidels in order to spread Islam.

The 12th-grade book glorifies "martyrdom" as "noble" and defines "jihad" as an "effort to wage war against the unbelievers." Jihad, it asserts, is the "pinnacle of Islam."

Many of these jihad-infused 12th-graders are flooding U.S. campuses right now, thanks to a post-9/11 "good will" gesture by the White House to reward more than 20,000 young Saudi men with student visas. King Abdullah had asked for the deal and got it — in part because he promised to reform the textbooks.

As usual, the Saudis tricked us. Instead of moving them to reforms, the deal only puts our homeland security at risk. Trained as they are to hate America from an early age, there is a good chance some Saudi students will lash out at their gracious host like the 15 Saudi hijackers before them.

"Some Saudis themselves have linked the kingdom's educational curriculum to patterns of violence in young Saudi men," the 90-page Hudson report said.

The curriculum is not confined to the kingdom; the oil-rich Saudi government is exporting it far and wide.

It disseminates these texts internationally, including to 19 academies founded by the Saudi ministry and chaired by local Saudi ambassadors in or near major foreign cities.

Quotes from the latest textbooks Riyadh is propagating include:

• "Every religion other than Islam is false."

• "The Jews and Christians are enemies of the believers."

• "Only through force and victory over the enemies is there security and repose."

• "The apes are Jews, the people of the Sabbath; while the swine are Christians, the infidels of the communion of Jesus."

The Saudi ministry has not removed these messages from its school texts. Its promised reforms are a joke, and the proof is clear. Now will the White House and State Department finally take action, as required under the International Religious Freedom Act? ...

Why Terror Thrives

Someone set out to kill a lot of people on Sunday night in Istanbul, Turkey - and did. Two bombs were exploded, 10 minutes apart, along a pedestrian mall in a residential neighborhood. The first explosion attracted a crowd; the second, which could be heard a mile away, was intended to kill those drawn to the site of the first attack. Some 17 people lost their lives and over 150 were wounded. Turkish president Abdullah Gul said the attack showed "the ruthlessness of terrorism." Indeed it did.

Terrorism, meaning the systematic use of force against civilians to demoralize, intimidate or subjugate countries or peoples, has been a scourge of humanity from time immemorial. The assault against an El Al plane at Munich Airport on February 10, 1970 was not the first instance of a civilian airliner being targeted. That appalling distinction goes to a Puerto Rican communist who hijacked a US airliner to Havana in 1961. Cuba gave him asylum.

It was the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, however, that trailblazed attacks on airliners with its September 7, 1970 hijacking of three planes "to call special attention to the Palestinian problem." Sure enough, the Palestinian cause has since became synonymous with anti-civilian warfare, from the Munich Olympics' massacre in September 1972 to the Arab fratricide inside Gaza this weekend. And the slaughter of innocents is now part of the Islamists' struggle against "infidels." What the Palestinians began in the early 1970s is now paying "dividends." ...

U.S. military: Iraqi detainees imposed sharia law on other prisoners

They've moved to separate the "extremists" to keep them from influencing the general inmate population in U.S. prisons in Iraq. A wise next step would be to do the same in domestic prisons to prevent prison dawa and plots like this. "US military: Iraq inmates imposed Islamic justice," by Kim Gamel for the Associated Press, July 26:

BAGHDAD - For years, extremist Iraqi detainees in U.S. custody held self-styled Islamic courts and tortured or killed inmates who refused to join them, military officials said, disclosing new details about the use of American prisons to recruit for the insurgency.
The problem became the main catalyst for a decision to separate moderate detainees from the extremists, part of a broader reform package aimed at correcting widespread U.S. prison abuses that sparked international criticism.
"We were having people who weren't insurgents who were being forced to be insurgents because of the power of these courts, the power of al-Qaida and other extremist groups," said Lt. Col. Kenneth Plowman, a spokesman for Task Force 134, which operates coalition detention facilities in Iraq.

Tiny Minority of Extremists Alert:

He told The Associated Press Friday that the jailhouse Sharia courts were formed, despite the presence of U.S guards, to enforce an extreme interpretation of Islamic law. They were then used to convict moderate inmates, who were then tortured or killed, he said.
In comments published in the Sierra Vista Herald in Arizona, Brig. Gen. Rodney L. Johnson, commander of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, put the number of detainees tried by the courts in the double-digits. Neither he nor Plowman would give specific numbers.
The courts were eradicated and none has been detected in six months although some gang-related issues persist, Plowman said.
"We have a detainee population of about 21,000. You're gonna have extremists who will find a way to communicate and to form these kind of organizations," he added.
But he said guards had stepped up to block efforts to form new courts. [...]
"The problem's been apparent and when Stone took command that was one of his first initiatives — to separate out the detainees into categories like moderate, extremists etc. in order to resolve this issue," Plowman said. "There hasn't been any real Sharia court for six months or so." [...]
Plowman said the military is using Muslim clerics and prison board members to determine to which category they should be assigned.

For additional information click here

What to Do: Blow Myself Up or Study Engineering at Caltech?

Sometimes the answer to a problem isn't as hard as we think it is. In fact, it may be downright easy. But something in our makeup prevents us from either seeing or pursuing the answer. We continue to tread the more arduous path and, in the process, not only perpetuate, but compound the problem. ...

12 Myths of 21st-Century War

by Ralph Peters

Unaware of the cost of freedom and served by leaders without military expertise, Americans have started to believe whatever's comfortable

We're in trouble. We're in danger of losing more wars. Our troops haven't forgotten how to fight. We've never had better men and women in uniform. But our leaders and many of our fellow Americans no longer grasp what war means or what it takes to win.

Thanks to those who have served in uniform, we've lived in such safety and comfort for so long that for many Americans sacrifice means little more than skipping a second trip to the buffet table.

Two trends over the past four decades contributed to our national ignorance of the cost, and necessity, of victory. First, the most privileged Americans used the Vietnam War as an excuse to break their tradition of uniformed service. Ivy League universities once produced heroes. Now they resist Reserve Officer Training Corps representation on their campuses.

Yet, our leading universities still produce a disproportionate number of U.S. political leaders. The men and women destined to lead us in wartime dismiss military service as a waste of their time and talents. Delighted to pose for campaign photos with our troops, elected officials in private disdain the military. Only one serious presidential aspirant in either party is a veteran, while another presidential hopeful pays as much for a single haircut as I took home in a month as an Army private.

Second, we've stripped in-depth U.S. history classes out of our schools. Since the 1960s, one history course after another has been cut, while the content of those remaining focuses on social issues and our alleged misdeeds. Dumbed-down textbooks minimize the wars that kept us free. As a result, ignorance of the terrible price our troops had to pay for freedom in the past creates absurd expectations about our present conflicts. When the media offer flawed or biased analyses, the public lacks the knowledge to make informed judgments.

This combination of national leadership with no military expertise and a population that hasn't been taught the cost of freedom leaves us with a government that does whatever seems expedient and a citizenry that believes whatever's comfortable. Thus, myths about war thrive.

Myth No. 1: War doesn't change anything.

This campus slogan contradicts all of human history. Over thousands of years, war has been the last resort - and all too frequently the first resort - of tribes, religions, dynasties, empires, states and demagogues driven by grievance, greed or a heartless quest for glory. No one believes that war is a good thing, but it is sometimes necessary. We need not agree in our politics or on the manner in which a given war is prosecuted, but we can't pretend that if only we laid down our arms all others would do the same.

Wars, in fact, often change everything. Who would argue that the American Revolution, our Civil War or World War II changed nothing? Would the world be better today if we had been pacifists in the face of Nazi Germany and imperial Japan?

Certainly, not all of the changes warfare has wrought through the centuries have been positive. Even a just war may generate undesirable results, such as Soviet tyranny over half of Europe after 1945. But of one thing we may be certain: a U.S. defeat in any war is a defeat not only for freedom, but for civilization. Our enemies believe that war can change the world. And they won't be deterred by bumper stickers.

Myth No. 2: Victory is impossible today.

Victory is always possible, if our nation is willing to do what it takes to win. But victory is, indeed, impossible if U.S. troops are placed under impossible restrictions, if their leaders refuse to act boldly, if every target must be approved by lawyers, and if the American people are disheartened by a constant barrage of negativity from the media. We don't need generals who pop up behind microphones to apologize for every mistake our soldiers make. We need generals who win.

And you can't win if you won't fight. We're at the start of a violent struggle that will ebb and flow for decades, yet our current generation of leaders, in and out of uniform, worries about hurting the enemy's feelings.

One of the tragedies of our involvement in Iraq is that while we did a great thing by removing Saddam Hussein, we tried to do it on the cheap. It's an iron law of warfare that those unwilling to pay the butcher's bill up front will pay it with compound interest in the end. We not only didn't want to pay that bill, but our leaders imagined that we could make friends with our enemies even before they were fully defeated. Killing a few hundred violent actors like Moqtada al-Sadr in 2003 would have prevented thousands of subsequent American deaths and tens of thousands of Iraqi deaths. We started something our national leadership lacked the guts to finish.

Despite our missteps, victory looked a great deal less likely in the early months of 1942 than it does against our enemies today. Should we have surrendered after the fall of the Philippines? Today's opinion makers and elected officials have lost their grip on what it takes to win. In the timeless words of Nathan Bedford Forrest, "War means fighting, and fighting means killing."

And in the words of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, "It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it."

Myth No 3: Insurgencies can never be defeated.

Historically, fewer than one in 20 major insurgencies succeeded. Virtually no minor ones survived. In the mid-20th century, insurgencies scored more wins than previously had been the case, but that was because the European colonial powers against which they rebelled had already decided to rid themselves of their imperial possessions. Even so, more insurgencies were defeated than not, from the Philippines to Kenya to Greece. In the entire 18th century, our war of independence was the only insurgency that defeated a major foreign power and drove it out for good.

The insurgencies we face today are, in fact, more lethal than the insurrections of the past century. We now face an international terrorist insurgency as well as local rebellions, all motivated by religious passion or ethnicity or a fatal compound of both. The good news is that in over 3,000 years of recorded history, insurgencies motivated by faith and blood overwhelmingly failed. The bad news is that they had to be put down with remorseless bloodshed.

Myth No. 4: There's no military solution; only negotiations can solve our problems.

In most cases, the reverse is true. Negotiations solve nothing until a military decision has been reached and one side recognizes a peace agreement as its only hope of survival. It would be a welcome development if negotiations fixed the problems we face in Iraq, but we're the only side interested in a negotiated solution. Every other faction - the terrorists, Sunni insurgents, Shia militias, Iran and Syria - is convinced it can win.

The only negotiations that produce lasting results are those conducted from positions of indisputable strength.

Myth No. 5: When we fight back, we only provoke our enemies.

When dealing with bullies, either in the school yard or in a global war, the opposite is true: if you don't fight back, you encourage your enemy to behave more viciously.

Passive resistance only works when directed against rule-of-law states, such as the core English-speaking nations. It doesn't work where silent protest is answered with a bayonet in the belly or a one-way trip to a political prison. We've allowed far too many myths about the "innate goodness of humanity" to creep up on us. Certainly, many humans would rather be good than bad. But if we're unwilling to fight the fraction of humanity that's evil, armed and determined to subjugate the rest, we'll face even grimmer conflicts.

Myth No. 6: Killing terrorists only turns them into martyrs.

It's an anomaly of today's Western world that privileged individuals feel more sympathy for dictators, mass murderers and terrorists - consider the irrational protests against Guantanamo - than they do for their victims. We were told, over and over, that killing Osama bin Laden or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, hanging Saddam Hussein or targeting the Taliban's Mullah Omar would only unite their followers. Well, we haven't yet gotten Osama or Omar, but Zarqawi's dead and forgotten by his own movement, whose members never invoke that butcher's memory. And no one is fighting to avenge Saddam. The harsh truth is that when faced with true fanatics, killing them is the only way to end their influence. Imprisoned, they galvanize protests, kidnappings, bombings and attacks that seek to free them. Want to make a terrorist a martyr? Just lock him up. Attempts to try such monsters in a court of law turn into mockeries that only provide public platforms for their hate speech, which the global media is delighted to broadcast. Dead, they're dead. And killing them is the ultimate proof that they lack divine protection. Dead terrorists don't kill.

Myth No. 7: If we fight as fiercely as our enemies, we're no better than them.

Did the bombing campaign against Germany turn us into Nazis? Did dropping atomic bombs on Japan to end the war and save hundreds of thousands of American lives, as well as millions of Japanese lives, turn us into the beasts who conducted the Bataan Death March?

The greatest immorality is for the United States to lose a war. While we seek to be as humane as the path to victory permits, we cannot shrink from doing what it takes to win. At present, the media and influential elements of our society are obsessed with the small immoralities that are inevitable in wartime. Soldiers are human, and no matter how rigorous their training, a miniscule fraction of our troops will do vicious things and must be punished as a consequence. Not everyone in uniform will turn out to be a saint, and not every chain of command will do its job with equal effectiveness. But obsessing on tragic incidents - of which there have been remarkably few in Iraq or Afghanistan - obscures the greater moral issue: the need to defeat enemies who revel in butchering the innocent, who celebrate atrocities, and who claim their god wants blood.

Myth No. 8: The United States is more hated today than ever before.

Those who served in Europe during the Cold War remember enormous, often-violent protests against U.S. policy that dwarfed today's let's-have-fun-on-a-Sunday-afternoon rallies. Older readers recall the huge ban-the-bomb, pro-communist demonstrations of the 1950s and the vast seas of demonstrators filling the streets of Paris, Rome and Berlin to protest our commitment to Vietnam. Imagine if we'd had 24/7 news coverage of those rallies. I well remember serving in Germany in the wake of our withdrawal from Saigon, when U.S. soldiers were despised by the locals - who nonetheless were willing to take our money - and terrorists tried to assassinate U.S. generals.

The fashionable anti-Americanism of the chattering classes hasn't stopped the world from seeking one big green card. As I've traveled around the globe since 9/11, I've found that below the government-spokesman/professional-radical level, the United States remains the great dream for university graduates from Berlin to Bangalore to Bogota.

On the domestic front, we hear ludicrous claims that our country has never been so divided. Well, that leaves out our Civil War. Our historical amnesia also erases the violent protests of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the mass confrontations, rioting and deaths. Is today's America really more fractured than it was in 1968?

Myth No. 9: Our invasion of Iraq created our terrorist problems.

This claim rearranges the order of events, as if the attacks of 9/11 happened after Baghdad fell. Our terrorist problems have been created by the catastrophic failure of Middle Eastern civilization to compete on any front and were exacerbated by the determination of successive U.S. administrations, Democrat and Republican, to pretend that Islamist terrorism was a brief aberration. Refusing to respond to attacks, from the bombings in Beirut to Khobar Towers, from the first attack on the Twin Towers to the near-sinking of the USS Cole, we allowed our enemies to believe that we were weak and cowardly. Their unchallenged successes served as a powerful recruiting tool. Did our mistakes on the ground in Iraq radicalize some new recruits for terror? Yes, But imagine how many more recruits there might have been and the damage they might have inflicted on our homeland had we not responded militarily in Afghanistan and then carried the fight to Iraq. Now Iraq is al-Qaeda's Vietnam, not ours.

Myth No. 10: If we just leave, the Iraqis will patch up their differences on their own.

The point may come at which we have to accept that Iraqis are so determined to destroy their own future that there's nothing more we can do. But we're not there yet, and leaving immediately would guarantee not just one massacre but a series of slaughters and the delivery of a massive victory to the forces of terrorism. We must be open-minded about practical measures, from changes in strategy to troop reductions, if that's what the developing situation warrants. But it's grossly irresponsible to claim that our presence is the primary cause of the violence in Iraq - an allegation that ignores history.

Myth No. 11: It's all Israel 's fault. Or the popular Washington corollary: "The Saudis are our friends."

Israel is the Muslim world's excuse for failure, not a reason for it. Even if we didn't support Israel, Islamist extremists would blame us for countless other imagined wrongs, since they fear our freedoms and our culture even more than they do our military. All men and women of conscience must recognize the core difference between Israel and its neighbors: Israel genuinely wants to live in peace, while its genocidal neighbors want Israel erased from the map.

As for the mad belief that the Saudis are our friends, it endures only because the Saudis have spent so much money on both sides of the aisle in Washington. Saudi money continues to subsidize anti-Western extremism, to divide fragile societies, and encourage hatred between Muslims and all others. Saudi extremism has done far more damage to the Middle East than Israel ever did. The Saudis are our enemies.

Myth No. 12: The Middle East's problems are all America 's fault.

Muslim extremists would like everyone to believe this, but it just isn't true. The collapse of once great Middle Eastern civilizations has been under way for more than five centuries, and the region became a backwater before the United States became a country. For the first century and a half of our national existence, our relations with the people of the Middle East were largely beneficent and protective, notwithstanding our conflict with the Barbary Pirates in North Africa . But Islamic civilization was on a downward trajectory that could not be arrested. Its social and economic structures, its values, its neglect of education, its lack of scientific curiosity, the indolence of its ruling classes and its inability to produce a single modern state that served its people all guaranteed that, as the West's progress accelerated, the Middle East would fall ever farther behind. The Middle East has itself to blame for its problems.

None of us knows what our strategic future holds, but we have no excuse for not knowing our own past. We need to challenge inaccurate assertions about our policies, about our past and about war itself. And we need to work within our community and state education systems to return balanced, comprehensive history programs to our schools. The unprecedented wealth and power of the United States allows us to afford many things denied to human beings throughout history. But we, the people, cannot afford ignorance.

[Ralph Peters is a retired Army officer, strategist and author of 22 books, including the recent "Wars of Blood and Faith: The Conflicts That Will Shape the 21st Century.]


Love, blackmail and rape – how al-Qaeda grooms women as ‘perfect weapons’

... The military believes that al-Qaeda employs a variety of tactics to get women to become suicide bombers. Some are easy prey because their husband or children have been killed or detained by US forces, said Captain Matthew Shown, the intelligence officer for “Sabre Squadron”, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, which is based in southeast Diyala.

Another method is for a member of al-Qaeda to marry a woman and then dishonour her in some way, such as letting someone else rape her. “This would leave her with no choice but to end her life,” Captain Shown, 34, said.

There are also reports of women being told that their husband or child will be killed unless they agree to become suicide bombers. ...

The US military is also hiring women to stand alongside male guards at checkpoints to ensure that all women get a full body search.“It is not possible for males to search females. ...


Should Cops or Generals Spearhead the War on Terror?

An Associated Press article quotes Seth Jones, a RAND political scientist and author of a study on fighting terrorism, as saying that intelligence operations and police work, not military operations, are the most effective tools against terrorism.

terrorists should be perceived and described as criminals, not holy warriors, and our analysis suggests there is no battlefield solution to terrorism. … The United States has the necessary instruments to defeat al-Qaida, it just needs to shift its strategy.

One component of that strategy would be to end the ‘War on Terror’ and transform it into a police action. The AP writes that “nearly every ally, including Britain and Australia, has stopped using ‘war on terror’ to describe strategy against the group headed by Osama bin Laden and considered responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 suicide attacks at the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon.” Why shouldn’t America do the same?

A closer reading of the RAND study shows it doesn’t wholly disparage military force. The monograph, How Terrorist Groups End, points out that terror groups often become susceptible to political reconciliation or police action only after the neutralization of their geopolitical and state sponsors, a process in which military force plays a preeminent role. ...

Click here for additional information and full report


The enemies of free speech: Who Funds Them?

Media Matters' Funding Background...

The most prominent group involved in MM's funding is the Democracy Alliance (DA):

    • DA is a group formed in 2005 that "accredits" liberal causes and steers large donations to them. It does not make grants per se.
    • As of 2006, DA reportedly required that recipient organizations refuse to disclose identity of donors[i] although many are identifiable through media reports.
    • Major backers of DA include:
      • George Soros[ii]
        • DA is described as "George Soros's Democracy Alliance"[iii] although that might be an exaggeration.
        • Soros was one of several people instrumental in forming DA.[iv]
      • Peter Lewis[v]
        • A close associate of George Soros.
      • Mark and Susie Tomkins Buell[vi] ("major backers" of Hillary Clinton[vii] and donors to MM).
      • Other wealthy donors to liberal and left-wing causes.
    • DA has steered money to many left-wing groups, including:
      • $5mm to the Center for American Progress (CAP), described below.[viii]
      • People for the American Way.
      • Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a George Soros-funded group. Reportedly received around $1mm from DA members in 2006.[ix]
      • Air America.[x]
      • At least one more Soros-funded group.[xi]
      • Please note that DA's funding recommendations are not public

The Democracy Alliance has funding and other links to MM:

    • MM has received funds directly from DA members,[xii] and has received in-kind help from other DA recipient organizations.
    • DA reportedly steered $7mm to MM as of January 2008.[xiii]
    • The Center for American Progress (CAP), which is a DA-accredited group, and MM have close links:
      • In 2004, John Podesta, former Clinton Chief of Staff, and founder of the CAP let MM use CAP office space.[xiv]
      • Other sources say MM was "developed with help from the newly formed Center for American Progress."[xv]
      • CAP described (apparently by an employee) as "the official Hillary Clinton think tank." [xvi]
      • George Soros reportedly gave CAP $3mm.[xvii]
    • In addition, MM's treasurer, Rachel Pritzker Hunter, is a board member of DA[xviii]

Who are the direct donors to Media Matters?

The following foundations and groups are documented as granting money to MM:

  • MM's IRS Form 990 does not list funding sources so the following is complied from credible media reporting and an initial review of foundation Form 990s.
  • A brief review of the websites and grantee lists of the following groups show they all support moderate-left to far-left-of-center organizations, including a number of environmental organizations, the ACLU, publishers of The Nation, People for the American Way, plus a number of pro-abortion groups.
  • Many of MM's funders donated to MM and other groups through the Tides Foundation, or donated to the Tides Foundation directly.
    • The Tides Foundation has been described as "a financial intermediary for left-wing non-profits and foundations."[xix]
    • The Tides Foundation funded the following groups (among others) according to media reports:
      • Tides Foundation set up a short-lived "Iraq Peace Foundation" which gave money to the pro-Castro groups United for Peace and Justice and Center for Constitutional Rights."[xx]
      • American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (of Hussein Ibish Fame)
      • CAP
      • CAIR
      • Democracy Now!
      • Global Exchange
      • PETA
      • Plus a number of groups with "Peace" in their title which implies they support violence.[xxi]
  • MoveOn.org
  • New Democrat Network[xxiii]
    • A self-described "Progressive Think Tank and Advocacy Organization."[xxiv]
    • Also acknowledged by an MM spokesman as providing unspecified "support" from Moveon.org.[xxv]
  • Schumann Center for Media and Democracy (2005; $500k)
    • Described on one website as "Rabidly anti-capitalist donor led by media icon Bill Moyers."[xxvi]
    • In 2005, donated $140,000 to Global Exchange, which "seems to be spearheading much of Venezuela's U.S. propaganda campaign"[xxvii] and much of whose funding comes from "organizing reality tours to Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and North Korea."[xxviii]
  • Gruber Family Foundation (2004/5 $500k)
  • Barbara Streisand Foundation (2004/5; $35k)
  • Arca Foundation (2004; $100k)
    • Grant recipients include:
      • The Culture Project, Inc ($3500 in 2004), for production of "Guantanamo," which dramatized alleged stories of false imprisonment in Guantanamo.[xxix]
      • Democracy Now Productions ($40k in 2004), a far-left talk show hosted by Amy Goodman, which hosts people like Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein.
      • Mercy Corps – ($35k in undetermined year), for holding conferences on US relations with North Korea.
  • Bernard & Audre Rapoport Foundation (2005; $50k)
  • Bohemian Foundation (2004/5; $475,000)
  • Glaser Progress Foundation (2005; $100k) (gave through Tides Foundation)
  • Susie Tomkins Buell Foundation (2004; $200k) (gave through Tides Foundation at least once)
      • $100k direct grant in 2004, according to 2004 Form 990.
      • $200k through the Tides Foundation, in 2003, according to 2003 Form 990.
  • Furman Foundation:
    • The Furman Foundation gave to MM, Tides Foundation, CAP, and other left-wing organizations, according to 2006 Form 990.
  • The above is based on an initial review of media and IRS Form 990s.

The following wealthy individuals have donated to MM either through foundations or directly:

  • Reportedly, MM received over $2mm[xxx][xxxi] from:
    • Leo Hindrey Jr.[xxxii]
      • Considered running for DNC chairman in 2004.[xxxiii]
    • Susie Tompkins Buell (co founder of Esprit)[xxxiv]
      • "Buell contributed at least $1 million to the Joint Victory Campaign 2004, a 527 group also supported by financier George Soros."[xxxv]
      • Big donor to Democratic and liberal causes
    • James Hormel[xxxvi]
      • One significant controversy involving Hormel is described as follows: "A coalition of religious right groups, led by the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council, charged that some of Hormel's $500,000 donation to the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center of the San Francisco Public Library was used to obtain material from NAMBLA, a group widely condemned by gay activists as supporting pedophilia. (Hormel has said he has no control over the library collection and has denounced NAMBLA.)"[xxxvii]
    • Bren Simon[xxxviii]
    • Peter Lewis,[xxxix]an associate of George Soros
      • It is not clear how much Peter Lewis gave to MM.
      • Described by Washington Post as "close associate" of George Soros.[xl]
      • Donated to many groups supporting drug legalization.[xli]

The extent of George Soros' links to MM:

    • There was a controversy over George Soros funding links:
      • In late 2004, MM stated flatly that neither it nor David Brock received money from Soros or any Soros-linked organization.[xlii]
      • MM backtracked a bit and stated it "never received funding directly from George Soros."[xliii]
        • As noted above, Soros gave money to CAP which has close links with MM.
        • In addition, Soros has funded Moveon.org which was acknowledged by an MM spokesperson as giving "support" to MM.

Statements by MM employees:

  • Eric Boehlert – MM Senior Fellow[xliv]
    • Described (by Frontpage Magazine) as "among the most passionate defenders of Univerisity of South Florida Professor Sami Al-Arian."[xlv]

Did Hillary Clinton Found MM?

· At the 2007 YearlyKos foundation, Hillary Clinton referred to ""institutions that I helped to start and support like Media Matters and Center for American Progress."[xlvi]

o This is apparently poetic license on Clinton's part. One mainstream newspaper reports that Clinton "advised Brock on creating the group, encouraging the creation of a liberal equivalent of the Media Research Center."[xlvii]

o The same article continues: "Clinton's extended family of contributors, consultants, and friends has played a pivotal role in helping Media Matters grow from a $3.5 million start-up in 2004 to its current [as September 2006] $8.5 million budget."[xlviii]

· An analysis of media reports, financial disclosures, and several published investigations of MM does not reveal any evidence that Hillary Clinton was directly involved in MM's founding.

· A reasonable inference from the available data is that at most Clinton gave advice and possibly steered some donations that way, but there is scant documentary evidence to this effect.

…However, there is significant overlap between Bill and Hillary Clinton staffers and MM:

The following individuals have worked for both MM and the Clintons (or close to them):

    • Dennis Yedwab: MM's communications strategist (2004-2005[xlix]) and director of strategic resources at democratic congressional campaign committee.[l]
    • Mandy Vlasz: Brock's personal assistant, and "veteran consultant to Democratic campaigns" including Gore's 2000 campaign[li]
    • Neel Lattimore: MM Director of Special Projects and Senator Clinton's press secretary during the 90s.[lii]
    • Kelly Craighead – Top advisor to Brock during MM's formation, and close friend of Hillary. Also top advisor to DA. [liii]

Initial Summary and Assessment:

o An initial review of Media Matters' funding sources shows that many donors have given to a numerous, and overlapping group of left or far-left-leaning, or otherwise radical groups…

o Including one (CAIR) widely suspected of links to Hamas.

o One (Global Exchange) described as a propaganda arm of Venezuela, and whom research suggests sympathizes with designated terrorist sponsoring countries.

o The foundations and individuals donating to MM have strong ties to the Democratic Party and Democratic and liberal causes.

o No link with Code Pink was identified, although further research could uncover a link.

o George Soros has donated to groups who have received funds from MM donors, and the Soros-linked Democracy Alliance has steered funds to MM.


Endnotes:



[i]"A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding," Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza, Washington Post, July 17, 2006.

[ii] "A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding," Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza, Washington Post, July 17, 2006.

[iii] "Billionaires for Big Government: What's Next for George Soros's Democracy Alliance?" Matthew Vadum and James Dellinger, Foundation Watch Report, January 2008 http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1198857554.pdf.

[iv] "Billionaires for Big Government: What's Next for George Soros's Democracy Alliance?" Matthew Vadum and James Dellinger, Foundation Watch Report, January 2008 http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1198857554.pdf.

[v] "Big $$ for Progressive Politics" The Nation, By Ari Berman, September 28, 2006

[vi] "A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding," Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza, Washington Post, July 17, 2006.

[vii] "A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding," Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza, Washington Post, July 17, 2006.

[viii] "A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding," Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza, Washington Post, July 17, 2006.

[ix]"Billionaires for Big Government: What's Next for George Soros's Democracy Alliance?" Matthew Vadum and James Dellinger, Foundation Watch Report, January 2008. http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1198857554.pdf.

[x] "Billionaires for Big Government: What's Next for George Soros's Democracy Alliance?" Matthew Vadum and James Dellinger, Foundation Watch Report, January 2008. http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1198857554.pdf.

[xi] "Billionaires for Big Government: What's Next for George Soros's Democracy Alliance?" Matthew Vadum and James Dellinger, Foundation Watch Report, January 2008. http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1198857554.pdf.

[xii] "Media Matters for America: Soros-Funded Watchdog Attacks Conservatives," Rondi Adams, Foundation Watch report, July 2007, http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1185463420.pdf.

[xiii] "Billionaires for Big Government: What's Next for George Soros's Democracy Alliance?" Matthew Vadum and James Dellinger, Foundation Watch Report, January 2008 http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1198857554.pdf.

[xiv] Discover the Networks article on Media Matters for America, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7150

[xv] "New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right," The New York Times, Jim Rutenberg,: May 3, 2004.

[xvi] "Media Matters: Hillary's Lap Dogs," John Perazzo, FrontPageMagazine.com, July 13, 2007.

[xvii] "David Brock Group Backpedals on Soros Funding," Marc Morano, CNSNews.com, March 3, 2005.

[xviii] "Media Matters for America Treasurer among Who's Who on George Soros Democracy Alliance,"

Judi McLeod, canadafreepress.com, January 14, 2008, accessed July 27, 2008.

[xix] "Soros-Funded Media Matters Attacks Conservatives," Rondi Adamson, October 29, 2007, Human Events, http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23079, accessed July 25, 2008.

[xx] Tides Foundation data at Discover the Networks site, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderProfile.asp?fndid=5184, accessed July 27, 2008.

[xxi] Ibid, and "The American Friends of Hugo Chavez: Dial 1-800-4-TYRANT," Ana Maria Ortiz and Matthew Vadum, Foundation Watch report, March 2008, http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1204310378.pdf

Also IRS form 990.

[xxii] "David Brock Group Backpedals on Soros Funding," Marc Morano, CNSNews.com, March 3, 2005.

[xxiii] "Media Matters for America: Soros-Funded Watchdog Attacks Conservatives," Rondi Adams, Foundation Watch report, July 2007, http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1185463420.pdf.

[xxiv] NDN Website, "About Us," http://www.ndn.org/about/, accessed July 26, 2008.

[xxv] "David Brock Group Backpedals on Soros Funding," Marc Morano, CNSNews.com, March 3, 2005.

[xxvii] "The American Friends of Hugo Chavez: Dial 1-800-4-TYRANT," Ana Maria Ortiz and Matthew Vadum, Foundation Watch report, March 2008, http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1204310378.pdf

Also IRS form 990.

[xxviii] "The American Friends of Hugo Chavez: Dial 1-800-4-TYRANT," Ana Maria Ortiz and Matthew Vadum, Foundation Watch report, March 2008, http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1204310378.pdf

Also IRS Form 990.

[xxix] 2004 Form 990.

[xxx] Discover the Networks article on Media Matters for America, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7150

[xxxi] "New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right," The New York Times, Jim Rutenberg,: May 3, 2004.

[xxxii] "New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right," The New York Times, Jim Rutenberg,: May 3, 2004.

[xxxiv] "New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right," The New York Times, Jim Rutenberg,: May 3, 2004.

[xxxv]"Susie Tompkins Buell just wants to help," A. James Memmott, muckety.com, February 13, 2008, http://news.muckety.com/2008/02/13/susie-tompkins-buell-just-wants-to-help/772, accessed July 26, 2008.

[xxxvi] "New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right," The New York Times, Jim Rutenberg,: May 3, 2004.

[xxxvii]"A philanthropist's trial by fire - James C. Hormel," Chris Bull, The Advocate, September 15, 1998.

[xxxviii] Discover the Networks article on Media Matters for America, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7150

[xxxix] Discover the Networks article on Media Matters for America, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7150

[xl] "Soros-Backed Activist Group Disbands as Interest Fades," Thomas B. Edsall

Washington Post, August 3, 2005

[xliii] ibid

[xliv] Discover the Networks article on Media Matters for America, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7150

[xlv] Discover the Networks article on Media Matters for America, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7150

[xlvi] "Hillary Clinton Told YearlyKos Convention She Helped Start Media Matters," Noel Sheppard, Newsbusters.org, October 1, 2007, http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2007/10/01/hillary-clinton-told-yearlykos-convention-she-helped-start-media-matt.

[xlvii] "Switching allegiances," Glenn Thrush, Newsday, September 7, 2006.

[xlviii] "Switching allegiances," Glenn Thrush, Newsday, September 7, 2006.

[xlix] According to respective 990 forms

[l] Discover the Networks article on Media Matters for America, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7150

[li] Discover the Networks article on Media Matters for America, http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7150

[lii] "Media Matters: Hillary's Lap Dogs," John Perazzo, FrontPageMagazine.com, July 13, 2007.

[liii] "New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right," The New York Times, Jim Rutenberg,: May 3, 2004.