Former Top Canadian Security Official, Who Beat CAIR-Canada in Lawsuit, to Testify Before U.S. House Subcommittee
By Andrew Cochran
Tomorrow, the U.S. House Judiciary immigrations subcommittee will hold a hearing to support the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which would largely end passport-free travel in the Western Hemisphere, in accordance with recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. One of the witnesses will be David Harris, former chief of strategic planning for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). According to a story in U.S. News & World Report, Harris pins partial responsibility for the plot on (quoting the story) "the Saudi-funded, Wahhabist-oriented Islamic lobbying groups that have spread stories of discrimination and cited statistical 'studies' and anecdotes to demonstrate Canada's 'Islamaphobia.'" That propaganda leads Canadian Muslims to believe they are oppressed and abused, leading them towards terrorism.
And Harris knows a lot about about the power of those lobbying groups. He was sued in 2004 by CAIR-CAN, the Council on American Islamic Relations Canada, for allegedly implying that CAIR-CAN was involved in terrorism. On April 19 of this year, CAIR-CAN issued a statement claiming that Harris "settled" the suit. Harris issued a statement on April 24, stating that CAIR-CAN misled the public in its claim of a "settlement:"
I believe implicitly in the accuracy of all that I said on the radio program. I have withdrawn not a word, and never shall. In the course of the interview I posed a question: Shouldn't someone be looking into CAIR-CAN's relationship with its more-troubling American relative, CAIR? For this, I was sued for libel...CAIR-CAN and Dr. Khan dropped their suit, cold. No damages, no costs, no apology, no clarification.
So tomorrow's hearing should be interesting on several fronts. I hope Judiciary Committee Members ask Mr. Harris to discuss his claim that CAIR-CAN is a subsidiary of the U.S.-based CAIR and to provide details of the sources for the propaganda aimed at young Canadian Muslims. Other witnesses will include Janice Kephart, former counsel to the 9/11 Commission, and a senior DHS official.