UK’s Dept for International Development Funded Terror

Multi-million pound foreign aid grant spent on encouraging terrorism

Telegraph: A multi-million pound foreign aid project aimed at promoting Palestinian state building and peace has instead encouraged terrorism and led to an  increase in violence, The Telegraph can disclose.

The Department for International Development (DFID)’s £156.4 million grant  providing financial aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) led to civil servants being “more likely” to commit acts of terrorism, an independent evaluation suggested.

An official report found that the five-year project encouraged public sector employees to engage in “active conflict” since their salaries were  paid to their families even if they were convicted and imprisoned for criminal acts, including terrorism.

On completing jail sentences, civil servants were able to return to their  jobs which had been “kept open when they return from detention”, and  continue to draw a salary funded by the UK taxpayer.

It comes as MPs prepare for a parliamentary debate on foreign aid spending,  held on Monday in the House of Commons. 

Sir Eric Pickles MP said: “Sadly, the Palestinian Authority role has deteriorated to, at best, the cheerleader to acts of violence to, at worst,  the operator of a revolving door policy for terrorists.

“British taxpayers will be shocked to learn that we are helping to fund an  equal opportunity employment policy for convicted terrorists.”

Rt Hon Joan Ryan MP, Chair of Labour Friends of Israel called for an  independent inquiry to “ensure that taxpayers’ money assists the process of  building peace and coexistence rather than ending up in the pockets of  convicted terrorists”.

The report, written by the Overseas Development Institute, found that  DFID’s grant failed to “promote peace or peaceful attitudes” and appeared  to lead to an increase in violence among Palestinians.

The DFID funds were enough to cover the salaries of 5,000 civil servants  over five years, the report said, but the more foreign aid money was spent on public sector employment, more “conflict-related” deaths occurred.

“The study suggests that in the West Bank, an increase in the number of  public sector employees is associated with an increase in Palestinian  fatalities due to conflict,” the ODI report said.

“An increase in public sector employment by one per cent is associated with  an increase in fatalities by 0.6% over this time period.”

The report cited the “opportunity cost” hypothesis which states that  “conflict, and therefore fatalities, are more likely when the opportunity  cost of engaging in conflict is lowered”.

It goes on: “For public sector employees, the opportunity cost of conflict is lowered  as their employment will be kept open when they return from detention, and  their family will continue to be paid their salary.”

Ms Ryan said the report “adds to the mounting concerns about the support  which DFID is providing to the Palestinian Authority”, and that she has “no  confidence” in DFID’s internal review into UK spending in the Palestinian  territories.

“This is an issue which has been put to the department repeatedly over  recent years and which is has consistently and repeatedly failed to act  on,” she said.

Lord Polak CBE, a Tory peer, said: “We have been campaigning for many  years to ask DFID to ensure that UK taxpayers’ hard-earned money was  reaching the right places and not the wrong pockets.

“DFID and the FCO will  now need to rewrite their parliamentary answers”.

A DFID spokesman said: “The ODI report clearly states that UK support on  the ground helped prevent economic collapse and an escalation in violence.  In turn this reduces the risks of further displaced people leaving the  region.”

Europe has an Unaccompanied Children Crisis Too

New World Dis-Order

Unaccompanied child refugees: ‘These children aren’t seen as children’

A network of 30 European NGOs supporting missing and exploited children have come together to tackle the rising problem of missing refugee children

Guardian: Human smugglers increasingly combine smuggling with exploitation and their victims are often children,” says Federica Toscano. “At chaotic border situations, it happens that smugglers deliberately separate refugee children from their parents to exploit them.’’

“We also hear that families at the border between Greece and Macedonia have been forced to ‘pay’ smugglers with one of their children,” continues Toscano. “Smugglers have come to realise they can make much more profit by taking advantage of vulnerable people. And the most vulnerable people are children.”

Toscano is well-placed to know. She works for Missing Children Europe, a network of thirty European NGOs that are active in the field of missing and sexually exploited children. Since its foundation in 2001, MCE has focussed on different groups of missing children (pdf). Half of the cases of children that disappear in Europe are runaways: those who run away from home or institutions after a history of violence or abuse. More than a third are abducted by parents.

Related reading: Invisible refugees: ‘You are the only organisation that has ever visited us’ 

But the most recent category is unaccompanied child refugees. “This group only makes up 2% of cases, which is a low percentage,” says Delphine Moralis, the secretary general of MCE, “but that doesn’t say anything about the magnitude of the problem. These children are seldom reported as missing. That’s why we find it so important to focus on this problem too.’’

Earlier this year Europol stated that at least 10,000 unaccompanied child refugees have gone missing in Europe. A recent EU report warned that these children have become targets for criminal gangs, who exploit them in the sex industry or force them to beg, steal or smuggle drugs.

But MCE believe the true number to be far higher than 10,000. Toscano says that “in Italy alone 5,000 refugee children have gone missing. And Germany reported that in 2015 almost 6,000 of these children have disappeared.’’

The organisation has been aware of the problem for some time. “As far back as 2005 a Belgian study showed that one fourth of unaccompanied children seeking asylum went missing within the first 48 hours upon arrival. So it’s no news to us.”

But for a whole range of reasons, many of these disappearances go unreported. “First of all, there’s no sense of urgency,” explains Toscano. “When a child refugee goes missing, the general assumption is that he or she has a plan, and that the child is resilient. The police and social services don’t feel the same sense of urgency as when the child is from their own country. They are not aware of the risks these children run, that they might fall victim to exploitation. So nothing is really done.’’

The lack of formal procedures when these children disappear is another problem. “Much depends on the goodwill of the single professional involved,” says Toscano. “There is no common system to collect information about missing children in Europe. There are good practices, but they’re very local. So the traffickers just go to another area.’’

MCE was founded fifteen years ago in 2001, when it became clear that European cooperation on this issue was seriously lacking. “I was working for a Belgian NGO at the time when two Belgian girls went missing,” says Moralis. “On the third day of their disappearance a judge called us and said: ‘We have no idea where these children are, they could be anywhere in Europe, we really need your help now.’ There was no other way to tackle the problem but by contacting one by one all the 309 European organisations working in this field. That’s when we realised it was necessary to create a network of contact points for missing children.”

The organisation facilitates training of professionals to respond better to the disappearance of child refugees. It also exerts pressure on European institutions to provide clear rules and legislation to protect these children. This year, MCE has published a handbook (pdf) on good practises to help prevent and respond to unaccompanied children going missing.

“We try to be as practical as possible,” says Toscano. “You can do so much to prevent a child from disappearing. Just a simple example: when a child arrives in a shelter and is given food, he may think he has to pay for it. When he has no money, he will try to escape as soon as possible. Workers should take time to explain everything to the child … Sometimes these children don’t even realise it when they are exploited. Their traffickers tell them all kinds of lies to make them extra vulnerable. They say: watch out for authorities, they will lock you up.’’

They also closely monitor development throughout Europe. Toscano has been collecting information on missing children in Europe through the EU co-funded SUMMIT project (pdf). This included a study into interagency cooperation around unaccompanied migrant children done through surveys and interviews with hotlines for missing children, professionals at refugee reception centres, guardians and law enforcement in the UK, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Belgium and Ireland.

As a result they are hearing from the frontlines. “We know that there are networks of child traffickers that operate in different countries,” says Toscano. “For example, when a refugee child has been exploited in Eritrea and claims asylum in the Netherlands, there will be another criminal gang waiting to exploit him there. Traffickers have excellent lines of communication. When a child has a history of trafficking, the risk that he will be trafficked again is very high.”

According to Moralis, the closing of borders means that lots of refugees are stuck in bad conditions: “This makes them more vulnerable and creates more opportunities for criminals. How is it possible that all this is going on in Europe and nobody seems to know where these children are?”

“Our main aim is to raise awareness that these children are children,” says Toscano. “It’s very simple. You’d think that everyone would be aware of this, but it is certainly not the case. Not for authorities, not for members of the civil society, nor for the general public. These children usually aren’t seen as children, but as people who just come here and use resources that we want to use for something else.’’

Disgusting: Democrats Walk During Moment of Silence

 

6 victims remain in intensive care.

Democrats shout down Paul Ryan after Orlando shooting moment of silence

CBS: Shouting erupted Monday evening on the House floor after a moment of silence for the victims of the Orlando massacre as Democrats demanded that the House consider gun control legislation.

After the brief moment of silence that Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, called for, Democrats began shouting from one side of the chamber, interrupting Ryan. Ryan’s office only tweeted out a clip of the moment of silence, but not the shouting that followed.

The House just observed a moment of silence in memory of those killed in the terrorist attack in #Orlando.https://t.co/MqS94hk68V

— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) June 13, 2016

“Where’s the bill?” Democrats shouted, referring to gun control legislation.

Amid the shouting, Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn, D-South Carolina, tried to seek recognition.

“I am really concerned that we have just today had a moment of silence and later this week the 17th…,” Clyburn said, as he was interrupted by Ryan who then asked if he was a posing a parliamentary inquiry.

“Yes, Mr. Speaker,” Clyburn said. “I am particularly interested about three pieces of legislation that have been filed in response to Charleston.”

Clyburn was referring to the anniversary this Saturday of the Charleston shooting massacre that left nine parishioners dead in a South Carolina church last year. One of the bills Democrats want the House to consider would close the “Charleston loophole, which is how the shooter in Charleston obtained a gun. The FBI performs background checks on gun buyers on South Carolina and if the check isn’t denied or completed in three days, the gun seller can sell the guy to the prospective buyer. The other pieces of legislation would prevent people who are on the FBI’s no-fly list from purchasing guns and one would ban anyone convicted of a hate crime from buying firearms, according to a leadership aide.

Ryan, however, ignored Clyburn and called for the House to continue voting. According to the speaker’s office, Clyburn was out of order under House rules and was not making a proper motion or inquiry.

“It’s shameful that anyone would try to use a moment of silence honoring victims of a brutal terrorist attack to advance their own political agenda,” Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said.

We just observed a moment of silence for the #Orlando victims. Then @SpeakerRyan refused to act to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists.

— Rep. Ted Deutch (@RepTedDeutch) June 13, 2016

Some Democrats said that they didn’t want to participate in the moment of silence at all.

Why I’m refusing the moment of silence. #NoMoreSilence Read: https://t.co/pSKUie0jVkpic.twitter.com/NTnFEokK3r

— Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) June 13, 2016

The victims of #Orlando deserve more than a moment of silence from Congress. They deserve moments of courage & action. #WheresTheBill

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) June 13, 2016

Jim HimesVerified account @jahimes Jun 12

I will not attend one more”Moment of Silence” on the Floor. Our silence does not honor the victims, it mocks them.

Seth MoultonVerified account @sethmoulton 14h14 hours ago

So I’m joining in not attending any more House “Moments of Silence” for mass shooting victims. Walked out of my first one tonight.

***** Tuesday, Obama holds a large national security council meeting to discuss terror attacks.

Taking part in the NSC meeting now underway at per WH:

 
#RedNationRising

Saudi Key Funder of Hillary Clinton Campaign

 

Primer:

Foreign nationals or foreign money cannot pay for or lobby for any ballot measures either. Document here from the FEC Commissioner.

From the Federal Election Commission website: The ban on political contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals was first enacted in 1966 as part of the amendments to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), an “internal security” statute.  The goal of the FARA was to minimize foreign intervention in U.S. elections by establishing a series of limitations on foreign nationals.  These included registration requirements for the agents of foreign principals and a general prohibition on political contributions by foreign nationals.  In 1974, the prohibition was incorporated into the Federal Election Campaign Act (the FECA), [HTML] [PDF] giving the Federal Election Commission (FEC) jurisdiction over its enforcement and interpretation.

This brochure has been developed to help clarify the rules regarding the political activity of foreign nationals; however, it is not intended to provide an exhaustive discussion of the election law.  If you have any questions after reading this, please contact the FEC in Washington, D.C., at 1-800-424-9530 or 202-694-1100.  Members of the press should contact the FEC Press Office at 202-694-1220 or at the toll free number listed above.

Except where otherwise noted, all citations refer to the Act and FEC regulationsAdvisory Opinions (AOs) issued by the Commission are also cited.

The Prohibition

The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) prohibits any foreign national from contributing, donating or spending funds in connection with any federal, state, or local election in the United States, either directly or indirectly.  It is also unlawful to help foreign nationals violate that ban or to solicit, receive or accept contributions or donations from them.  Persons who knowingly and willfully engage in these activities may be subject to fines and/or imprisonment.

Who is a Foreign National?

The following groups and individuals are considered “foreign nationals” and are, therefore, subject to the prohibition:

  • Foreign governments;
  • Foreign political parties;
  • Foreign corporations;
  • Foreign associations;
  • Foreign partnerships;
  • Individuals with foreign citizenship; and
  • Immigrants who do not have a “green card.”

 

Deleted official report says Saudi key funder of Hillary Clinton campaign

#USA2016

MEE: Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly said Saudi has enthusiastically funded Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign

Saudi Arabia is a major funder of Hillary Clinton’s campaign to become the next president of the United States, according to a report published by Jordan’s official news agency.

The Petra News Agency published on Sunday what it described as exclusive comments from Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman which included a claim that Riyadh has provided 20 percent of the total funding to the prospective Democratic candidate’s campaign.

The report was later deleted and the news agency has not responded to requests for comment from Middle East Eye.

It is illegal in the United States for foreign countries to try to influence the outcome of elections by funding candidates.

The Washington-based Institute for Gulf Affairs has re-published the original Arabic Petra report, which quoted Prince Mohammed as having said Saudi Arabia had provided with “full enthusiasm” an undisclosed amount of money to Clinton.

“Saudi Arabia always has sponsored both Republican and Democratic Party of America and in America current election also provide with full enthusiasm 20 percent of the cost of Hillary Clinton’s election even though some events in the country don’t have a positive look to support the king of a woman (sic) for presidency,” the report quoted Prince Mohammed as having said.

The US Federal Election commission reports that over the past two years Clinton has raised a little more than $211.78m. Twenty percent of this sum is $42.35m.



A screenshot of the English report published and then deleted by the Petra News Agency

The report was published on the eve of Prince Mohammed making an official visit to the United States.

The Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday that the senior royal was due to fly to Washington where he will meet officials to discuss US-Saudi ties.

He will remain in the American capital until 16 June, when he will travel to New York for meetings with financial companies, the Saudi Gazette reported.

Prince Mohammed will discuss regional issues with American officials, and he will hold talks with the financial companies about his vision for diversifying Saudi Arabia’s economy away from oil dependency.

Links between Saudi Arabia and the Clinton family, including with Hillary’s campaign, are well reported.

In 2008, it was revealed that the Gulf kingdom had donated between $10m and $25m to the Clinton Foundation, a charity set up by Hillary’s husband and former US President Bill Clinton.

Last year the Centre for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court paid public relations firm the Podesta Group $200,000 for a month-long project to provide “public relations services”.

The Podesta Group was founded in 1988 by brothers John and Tony Podesta. John Podesta is the chair of Hillary Clinton’s campaign to become the next US president.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Who is Mir Seddique the father of Omar Mateen?

The Taliban is in the building, including U.S. federal buildings, meaning Seddique Mir Mateen was granted access to the Obama administration.

Seddique Mir Mateen is a life insurance salesman who started a group in 2010 called Durand Jirga, Inc., according to Qasim Tarin, a businessman from California who was a Durand Jirga board member. The name refers to the Durand line, the long disputed border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Related reading for comprehensive details, summary from Washington Post.

 

Durand Jirga photo

Photo courtesy

Seddique uses the Dari language, and not Pashto, the language of Pushtuns. More here.

Tarin said Seddique Mir Mateen had a television show on which they discussed issues facing Afghanistan.

THE DURAND JIRGA, INC. has been set up 11/28/2010 in state FL. The current status of the business is Active. The THE DURAND JIRGA, INC. principal adress is 519 SW BAYSHORE BOULEVARD, PORT ST. LUCIE, FL, 34983.

Details:  =  jirga (Pashto: لويه جرګه‎, “grand assembly”) is a special type of jirga that is mainly organized for choosing a new head of state in case of sudden death, adopting a new constitution, or to settle national or regional issue such as war.

Details: = Durand Liine The Durand Line (Pashto: د ډیورنډ کرښه‎) is the 2,430-kilometre (1,510 mi) long boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It was established in 1893 between Sir Mortimer Durand, a British diplomat and civil servant of British India, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the Afghan Amir, to fix the limit of their respective spheres of influence and improve diplomatic relations and trade. Afghanistan ceded various frontier areas to British India to prevent invasion of further areas of the country. Afghanistan was considered by the British as an independent princely state at the time, although the British controlled its foreign affairs and diplomatic relations.

Durand: “Our brothers in Waziristan, our warrior brothers in [the] Taliban movement and national Afghan Taliban are rising up. Inshallah the Durand Line issue will be solved soon.”

*****

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Mateen had also been granted a corporate license by the State of Florida to operate his group called The Provisional Government of Afghanistan.

Related reading: Father of Orlando massacre suspect Omar Mateen supports Taliban on his TV show

Related reading: Father’s Facebook page

Sabrina Seddique

Active Fort Pierce, FL

Director for The Durand Jirga, Inc.

Sabrina Seddique is currently associated with one company, according to public records. The company was incorporated in Florida five years ago.

Companies

The Durand Jirga, Inc.

Current roles include:

Director

Incorporated

Florida in 2010

Active Status
6 Years in Business
9 Officers Found

Connections

A connection is made when two people are officers, directors, or otherwise associated with the same company. Sabrina has eight known connections and has the most companies in common with Mustafa Aurakzai.

Mustafa Aurakzai

Director for The Durand Jirga, Inc.

Abdul Hadi Katawazi

Officer for The Durand Jirga, Inc.

Seddique Mateen

Director for The Durand Jirga, Inc.

Mary Seddique

Director for The Durand Jirga, Inc.

Abdul-Rahman Ahmadi

Previous Director for The Durand Jirga, Inc.

Suraya Khadim

Previous Director for The Durand Jirga, Inc.

Abdul G Ashrat Modjaded

Previous Director for The Durand Jirga, Inc.

Qasim Tarin

Previous Director for The Durand Jirga, Inc.
*****

In part from Associated Press: Some of Seddique Mir Mateen’s shows were taped and later posted on YouTube. During one episode, a sign in the background read: “Long live the U.S.A! Long live Afghanistan. … Afghans are the best friends to the U.S.A.”

But a former Afghan official said the “Durand Jirga Show” appears on Payam-e-Afghan, a California-based channel that supports ethnic solidarity with the Afghan Taliban, which are mostly Pashtun. Viewers from Pashtun communities in the United States regularly call in to the channel to espouse support for Pashtun domination of Afghanistan over the nation’s minorities, including Hazaras, Tajiks and Uzbeks, the official said.

The “Durand Jirga Show” expresses support for the Taliban, has an anti-Pakistan slant, complains about foreigners in Afghanistan and criticizes U.S. actions there, the official said. Seddique Mir Mateen lavished praise on current Afghan President Ashraf Ghani when he appeared on the show in January 2014, but he has since denounced the Ghani government, according to the official, who said that on Saturday, Seddique Mateen appeared on the show dressed in military fatigues and used his program to criticize the current Afghan government.

He also announced on that show that he would run in the next Afghan presidential election, said the official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because he did not want to be linked to coverage of the shooting.