The Chaplain Problem: What gives with imams in the military?

National Review, Oct 27, 2003 by Kate O'Beirne

While the apparent infiltration of the most secure military installation in the world has commanded the headlines, those most familiar with terrorist networks see a bigger story. According to Steven Emerson, executive director of the Investigative Project, a leading anti-terrorist watchdog group, "There is a cancer problem in the whole body that only surfaced in Guantanamo Bay." In 1996, Emerson wrote two op-eds for the Wall Street Journal sounding the alarm about Abdurahman Alamoudi's meetings with senior White House officials. He detailed the American Muslim Council's "consistent record of support for radical Islamic groups." He called on the Clinton administration "to stop giving aid and comfort to those who have declared themselves America's enemies."

This particular enemy of America, Alamoudi, actually went on to serve as an official emissary for Americans: In the late 1990s, the State Department paid him to make six trips as a goodwill ambassador to the Middle East. Five years later, Alamoudi was still a welcome visitor at the White House. In June 2001, he attended a briefing on President Bush's faith-based initiative, and he was invited by the White House to the prayer service at the National Cathedral following the 9/11 attacks.

Emerson is now sounding the alarm about radical Islamists in uniform. A year ago, he put together a presentation about the infiltration of the American military by Islamic militants and briefed senior Pentagon officials. His report stated that "militant Islamic terrorists have used the United States military for training in their preparation for jihad against the West, and as cover for operational support and intelligence gathering." Emerson explained that Islamic fundamentalists were using the military to propagate their ideology and to recruit new members through the military-chaplain programs; he says his concerns were "shrugged off" by the officials he spoke with. In March, Sergeant Hasan Akbar killed two officers in a grenade attack in Kuwait.

A moderate Muslim organization, aligned with Shiite Islam, also claims to have been ignored by the Defense Department. The Universal Muslim Association of America has tried unsuccessfully to be approved to certify Muslim clerics. Its spokesman explains, "The Defense Department should be aware that there are two main forms of Islam [Sunni and Shiite] and that it was only Wahhabism [a branch of Sunnism] that is being represented."

Several years ago, an expert on extremist groups testified to Congress about the threat posed by infiltration of the military. He told the lawmakers that "members of the military are extremely attractive recruits for extremist organizations. Those with specialized training and access to sophisticated weaponry and classified information are especially valuable." He was talking in 1996 about the KKK. A Defense Department directive declared that active participation in white- supremacist groups was incompatible with military service.

Senator Kyl now sees a conspiracy fueled by a different radical ideology-one that it seems the military chooses not to see at all.