Soliman al-Buthe
Soliman Al-ButheSaudi Arabian Al-Buthe came to the United States in 1997 to establish the U.S. branch of an global Islamic charity, and is now a US Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and fugitive from money laundering charges.
Before he fled the country, Al-Buthe had close ties to George W Bush confidante and Jack Abramoff partner Grover Norquist, several of whose colleagues have been officially named terrorist financiers, while others were placed in top positions at critical US government agencies. Norquist’s brother David is actually Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Homeland Security.
Acting as treasurer of the Saudi-based Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, Buthe set up its US operation in Oregon, with Iran-American activist Pete Seda. Over the next seven years, including 9/11/01, Al- Buthe travelled repeatedly to Saudi Arabia, bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars in travellers checks with him.
In 2002, the US along with Saudi Arabia froze the assets of other Al-Haramain branches around the world, specifically for the funding of terrorist bombings.
The US branch wasn‘t charged until two years later, when the U.S. got the UN security council to declare the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation a front for al-Qaeda and other terrorists, effectively banning all its operations.
It took another year before Al-Buthe and Seda were indicted, for hiding Al-Haramain US branch funds, then moving them to overseas terrorists. By the time of the indictment, both men were long gone -- Al-Buthe to Saudi Arabia and Seda presumably to Iran, both countries without extradition agreements with the US.
Al-Buthe is fighting the charges from Saudi Arabia. His American lawyer is Asim Ghafoor, former political director of Grover Norquist’s Islamic Free Market Institute. That group received funding from The Safa group, an umbrella charity also officially named a terror funding source.
Norquist, with more than 100 recorded visits to the Bush White House, got start- up money for his Institute from Abdurahman Alamoudi, now serving 23 years in prison for terrorist funding and a plot to assassinate the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
Before his arrest in 2003 Alamoudi was a political force in D.C., seen in numerous two-shot photos with George W. Bush, appearing at a prayer service with Bush three days after 9/11, and consulting for the Pentagon.
Even before his arrest, Alamoudi began losing favor in Washington, when he declared his support for Hezbollah and Hamas, in front of the White House, on camera.
Categories
Sources
- The Seda-Saudi Connection, By Mark Freeman, Mail Tribune, August 21, 2005: http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/0821/local/stories/02local.htm
- A l Qaeda Skimming Charity Money, CBS, June 7, 2004: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/07/terror/main621621.shtml
- Indictment for Conspiring to Defraud U.S. Government, US Attorney's Office, Oregon, Feb 17, 2005: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/or/PressReleases/20050217_al_haramain.htm