“Al Capone” Vindicated Yet Again

By Bill West

As the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has just reported (below), a Federal indictment against Yaser Bushnaq for naturalization fraud (18 USC 1425) was unsealed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The details of the indictment can be read in the excellent IPT article. The beauty of the indictment is that it charges a hard-hitting, straightforward immigration felony fraud but incorporates as elements of the fraud clear terrorism support and issues related to national security.

We can fully expect the usual apologists for radical Islamists to howl that such a prosecution is yet another back-door persecution of an innocent Muslim. Mr. Bushnaq is surely presumed innocent until he may be proven otherwise. However, bringing such an indictment if the evidence is developed and presented is entirely legitimate. It is precisely this kind of smart, energetic, aggressive and innovative investigation and prosecution we need in counter-terrorism and national security matters. For decades this technique, the “Al Capone” approach - pursuing any viable violations identified and developed against known bad guys, has worked well against organized crime, gangs and drug dealers and the only complainers were the thugs who were put away. Isn’t it odd when the strategy is employed against terrorists, their supporters and their organizations there are some seemingly on the “outside” who cry foul?

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