U.S. Congress Examines Funding of Iraqi Terrorists with Victor Comras as Hearing Witness (updated)
By Andrew Cochran
Two hearings in the U.S. Congress, one today and another tomorrow, examine how the Iraqi terrorists have been funded. Today, the joint subcommittee hearing of the U.S. House International Relations Committee reviewed Syria's siphoning of billions from the Oil-for-Food program. A senior official of State Department, an IRS official who investigated the use of Oil-for-Food funds, and our Victor Comras discussed how the Assad regime in Syria forged illicit trading relationships with Saddam Hussein, generating approximately $3.4 billion from the sale of Iraqi crude oil and petroleum products. Victor reminded the Congressmen that Saddam funneled OFF proceeds suicide bombers through branches of the Rafidain Bank, a subject of discussion previously here, and that an enormous amount of Saddam's assets have not been found. (UPDATE: 7/28 Washington Times story on the hearing quotes Victor on this point.) Tomorrow, another joint hearing of two House committees, to be chaired by Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY), will further examine how ex-Baathists in Syria and Iraq, assisted by jihadists in Syria and Saudi Arabia, have funneled money to the Iraqi terrorists. A "U.S. News & World Report" article today on the issue quotes Doug Farah's use of the term "microsponsors," or "small-time backers who provide funding to move two or three insurgents into the countrya kind of terrorist equivalent to adopt-a-hungry-child." Senior officials of the Treasury and Defense Department and Defense Intelligence Agency will testify at that hearing.
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