The U.S. Central Command, the tip of the military spear in the war on terrorism, recently scheduled a briefing at its Tampa, Fla., headquarters by a member of the Council on Islamic American Relations (CAIR), a group listed by the U.S. Justice Department as an unindicted coconspirator in a terrorism case.
The CENTCOM senior lecture series was to host Ahmed Bedier, CAIR’s Tampa chapter director, on Tuesday to discuss “Moderate Islam,” but the meeting was postponed after calls from political leaders in Washington questioned the command for holding the meeting, especially in the aftermath over the firing of Joint Staff counterterrorism analyst Stephen Coughlin, a leading proponent of denying credibility to such groups as CAIR because of concerns they will form a future support network for terrorists in the United States.
One CENTCOM spokesman said initially the meeting was postponed. But a second spokesman said later that the meeting was canceled after a review of CAIR and Mr. Bedier, who has supported the Islamic practice of stoning, determined the lecture is “not appropriate.”
One official defended the lecture as a way to help analysts understand the domestic Muslim groups. But others said CAIR, which has lobbied House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr., Michigan Democrat, to be delisted as a terrorist conspirator, planned to use its appearance at CENTCOM to gain legitimacy. The group is thought to be one of many American Muslim groups that provides cover for the extremist Muslim Brotherhood.