First, my congressman holds some sort of wack coronation ceremony for the racist and psychotic Reverend Sun Moon (see here, for instance), and now he goes on a junket to Sri Lanka paid for by the Tamil Tigers. Not really exercising the best judgement, Congressman.
Congressman's trip tied to group U.S. considers terrorists
Chicago congressman Danny Davis and an aide took a trip to Sri Lanka last year that was paid for by the Tamil Tigers, a group that the U.S. government has designated as a terrorist organization for its use of suicide bombers and child soldiers, law enforcement sources said.
Davis' seven-day trip came under new scrutiny this week following the arrests of 11 supporters of the organization on charges of participating in a broad conspiracy to support the terrorist group through money laundering, arms procurement and bribery of U.S. officials.
Congressman Davis never did respond to my letters re the Sun Moon coronation, I suppose he was just too embarrassed anyone noticed. However, I haven't gotten any more fund raising letters since then, so I suppose my “thoughts have been carefully noted”.
The Tamil Tigers is a separatist group that has been fighting since 1983 for an independent state for 3.2 million ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka, a tear-shaped island nation of 20 million off the southern tip of India. In addition to conventional guerrilla tactics, the group has used terrorist methods, including 200 suicide bombings, in a bloody conflict that has claimed more than 60,000 lives. Though the violence between the government and the separatist group abated during the past several years, it recently surged again, threatening a renewed civil war.Davis said he believed that the trip, from March 30 to April 5, 2005, was paid for by the Tamil federation, which in accordance with congressional ethics rules sent him a written statement of the travel expenses, more than $7,000 each for Davis and his aide, Daniel Cantrell. Davis said he knew that the group was “associated” with the Tamil Tigers but did not realize that the trip's costs were covered with funds controlled by the rebel group.
...
Davis said he always assumed that the organization had a connection with the Tamil Tigers.“I knew that they were associated with the Tamil Tigers, yes,” he said.
Anyway, not a huge deal, just evidence of an incumbent who has no need to mind his Ps and Qs anymore. I don't know enough about Sri Lanka to pass judgement as to whether the Tamil Tigers are a legitimate independence-fighting army or just terrorists, so I'll let others bloviate on that subject.
Tags: terrorism
