Random Thoughts
It’s Still the Saudis
Sami al-Mutairi apparently shot and killed an American worker in Kuwait this week. He was captured Wednesday trying to cross the border into Saudi Arabia. Kuwaiti authorities believe that Sami al-Mutairi was not working alone, and that at least two others were in on the terrorist plot. This is the third “isolated” terror incident in Kuwait since the start of the Terror war and the U.S. buildup in the Gulf preparing for the preemptive war with Iraq.
Now I don’t know about you, but if I was one of these terrorist guys and I needed to escape wouldn’t I flee to a safe and friendly haven?
Kuwait borders Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and Sami al-Mutairi is apprehended fleeing into…Saudi Arabia. According to President Bush and his war cabinet, Iraq is the mother of all terror sponsors, sympathetic to Al Qaeda and any number of other terror organizations, and this Kuwaiti terrorist runs in the wrong direction?
Liberated Kuwaitis are killing their American liberators (this is the third such event), these killers are terrorist, terrorists are supported by Iraq, and this terrorist seeks safety in the safe haven of an American ally, Saudi Arabia. Tell me again that the Bush team has this all figured out!
Conclusion:
Iraq is the same threat to the U.S. that it has always been, none. The problems faced in the region and in the Terror War stem from a religion (Islam), not a state. Do not be surprised to find that the Saudis want the U.S. to take out Hussein more so than anyone else, only they don’t want to say so. The region fears Iraq more then they do the terrorist or militant Islam, so they will support the U.S. while making strong public protest. An attack on Iraq will serve to strengthen the hold of militant Islam on the region and the religion because it will eliminate a competitor.
Ptech Software, a Boston area software company, was started by Chief Executive Officer Oussama Ziadé to provide government agencies, including the FBI and branches of the military, with software to help them become more efficient. Unfortunately Ptech has been associated with Yasin al-Qadi (or al-Kadi), the Saudi head of the Muwafaq Foundation an organization suspected of financing terrorist like Al Qaeda.
Ptech Software is a privately held company with annual revenues in the $100 million range, but was 4 years old before it landed its first customer. This is the model of a company that had significant venture capital to keep it afloat.
Yasin al-Qadi sits on the board of a Nevada firm called Global Diamond Resources, and is a major investor in a Canadian firm, MIT Ventures (Forbes). According to a Forbes report al-Qadi is on a CIA list of 12 Saudis allegedly funneling money to Al Qaeda. The government’s fear is that Ptech Software is providing software to sensitive government organizations during this Terror War with built-in “backdoors” into their software products that would allow access to confidential and secret information.
Ptech Software also uses a significant number of “guest” worker visas, like H-1B (loosely tracked) and L-1 (not effectively tracked) visas. This should raise additional concerns regarding the governments fear regarding “backdoor” entry into Ptech Software products.
Conclusion:
OK it is still the Saudis, not an Iraqi in the bunch. The Saudis have too much money and too much access to American officials to be held accountable. National security continues to be compromised by Saudi influence.
Beyond that, national security continues to be compromised by weak or nonexistent immigration controls. Again, the tip of this Ptech Software iceberg is not so much the financing (we get that picture), but the role that immigration and “guest” worker programs play in the dangers to America. To fear that a software product has “backdoors” built into the software product you must necessarily fear the people doing the programming. American IT professionals, i.e. American programmers and support, would not knowingly aid such an effort. The influx of massive numbers of technology replacement workers from around the world, bringing with them allegiances to who knows who (without a full FBI investigation) is a catastrophe in the making, and the U.S. government is turning a blind eye to the threat.
Glenn Jackson is Chairman of the American Reformation Project and a columnist for USA Daily. His columns also appear on EtherZone. Glenn is also a former State Chairman for Buchanan 2000 Presidential campaign, and former state Chairman of the Georgia Freedom Party. Glenn holds an MA in Philosophy from Georgia State University in Atlanta.
© Glenn R. Jackson