Family Security Matters » Publications » Is This Who We Want Representing U.S. Interests Abroad?

Family Security Matters » Publications » Is This Who We Want Representing U.S. Interests Abroad?: "Is repeatedly badmouthing the United States and fabricating an environment of a war against Muslims by the U.S. government a qualification for being sent on overseas travel at the taxpayers' expense?

The State Department and a U.S. university seem to think so.

Consider the case of Christina Abraham, Civil Rights Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago chapter. It is an affiliate of the national CAIR group that was described by an FBI agent in trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development as a front for Hamas. CAIR had also been declared an unindicted co-conspirator in that same trial, that resulted in sweeping terrorist convictions for all defendants last year. For the past 14 years, CAIR has defended Islamic terrorism, sponsored anti-Semitic conferences and has consistently attacked nearly all U.S. prosecutions of Islamic terrorists and asset forfeitures of Islamic terrorist charitable front groups as racist. Late last year, the FBI severed its relationship with CAIR because of its ties to Hamas.

In early 2008, CAIR's Abraham participated in a program on "Building the National Identity and Civic Participation in the Philippines" conducted at Northern Illinois University (NIU) – an event funded by the U.S. State Department's Office of Citizen Exchanges in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. She served as what the program's training manual described as a "resource person" who "provided…materials for the program," which ran from May 31st to June 28th under the auspices of NIU's International Training Office & Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

But that wasn't the end of Abraham's involvement in the government-funded program. This past January -- again with the State Department picking up the tab -- she traveled to the Philippines to join in a follow-on week-long seminar at the Vistamar Resort in Mactan, Cebu.

CAIR was so proud that it issued a press release on February 11, 2009 entitled "Civil Rights Director Participates in State Dept. Delegation to Philippines." CAIR-Chicago reported that Abraham "headed to the Philippines this January as a part of a delegation to the International Visitor's [sic] Program (IVP) Conference in Cebu, Philippines." From January 2-13, the release reported, she gave presentations "on civil rights workshops based upon CAIR-Chicago's work for victims of discrimination." And the reported noted: "Each of the U.S. delegates was chosen for their respective expertise in methods for constructive civic engagement."


*sigh* how can we begin to win any war on terrorism with nonsense like this?
Has the war on terrorism ended just because Obama wishes to hide his head in the sand, play nice, hold hands and denounce America at every opportunity with apologies?
The terrorists don't seem to think so, they are taking this as a signal of weakness and lack of resolve.
The policy decisions regarding terrorism are not going to work in our favor now But the terrorists will love it."