Paul Williams, Hamid Mir
Portraying Hamid Mir as America's enemy?
By Judi McLeod & David Dastych
Friday, September 21, 2007
It was a surprise for Canada Free Press (CFP) to hear author Paul L. Williams tell Rick Wiles on air over TRUENEWS Radio (www.trunews.com) last night that CFP is "spreading lies" about him.
Surprise because CFP has told no lies about Williams. Indeed CFP has been concerned since Sept. 10, 2007 when Williams offered a story to us, which we believe contains untruths about Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir. In the story, Williams states that Mir accused the American media of altering Osama bin Laden's Sept. 7 videotape message to Americans.
In an email to Williams, I wrote that I questioned the validity of his having spoken to Mir and asked him to respond with confirmation because I intended to write about it.
The Williams story on Mir was posted as an exclusive on www.atlasshrugs.com, on Sept. 9, 2007.
"Dear Judi-yes, I know. I put Hugh's name on the article but it's very salient Mir says that the bin Laden tape was altered and he provides the exact whereabouts of bin Laden. In addition, he sets forth the real skinny on the situation in Afghanistan," Williams wrote in the email, which accompanied the attached story.
The 'Hugh' mentioned in Williams' email to CFP is Dr. Hugh Cort, Republican presidential candidate in Alabama. Cort is a psychiatrist and not a journalist and this was the third time Williams sent a story with Cort's byline to CFP.
Concerned that this could be a distortion of the news, I tried to confirm that Mir had said the things attributed to him in the Williams story by emailing Mir in Pakistan. When I did not hear back from Mir, I emailed his friend, CFP colleague David Dastych, who is based in Poland.
On Sept. 13, I was enroute to cover the Sept. 15 anti-war demonstration in Washington, D.C. Late that day, Williams sent an email advising me that Cort had spoken to Mir the previous Sunday.
"Dr. Cort definitely spoke to Mir last Sunday on several occasions," Williams wrote in his email. "During the course of this conversation, Mir gave Dr. Cort his brand new number in Pakistan, which is -------. I don't know what game Mir is playing but he is not telling the truth. I also believe you should contact Dr. Cort before you write anything. Dr. Cort's numbers are---- & ----. Anyone who knows Hugh knows that he is not a liar. The allegations from Mir are outrageous. He has back-pedaled on statements before. This guy is capable of mendacity and I don't it."
In the Sept. 9 story, Dr. Paul Williams: Media Alters Bin Laden's Message, Williams asserts that "The American media missed the most important part of Osama bin Laden's videotape message, according to Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir."
"Mr. Mir, the only reporter to interview bin Laden in the wake of 9/11, said that the text of bin Laden's address may have been redacted by government sources since a significant portion of it was not aired by major American news outlets."
For his part, Mir insists that he spoke to Hugh Cort, that Cort asked him his opinion on the then most recent bin Laden tape and that he told Cort to email his questions, but no questions were ever sent.
Mir met both Williams and Cort at an America's Truth Forum symposium in Las Vegas last November and has had no contact with either party until Sunday, Sept. 9. Anything Mir said on the telephone to Cort would be considered small talk, as Mir knows that Cort is not a journalist.
Williams, is the author of several books about terrorism, the most recent being The Day of Islam. He has written several articles relating to radical Islamic compounds operating on American soil for CFP.
CFP ran the first of these articles, Springtime in Islamberg: Radical Muslim paramilitary compound flourishes in upper New York State, on May 11, 2007. Williams reported on his tour of the Islamberg compound, which is nestled in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, on the outskirts of Hancock, New York.
"Islamberg is a branch of Muslims of the Americas Inc, a tax-exempt organization formed in 1980 by Pakistani cleric Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, who refers to himself as "the sixth Sultan Ul Faqr". Gilani has been directly linked by court documents to Jamaat ul-Fuqra or "community of the impoverished", an organization that seeks to "purify" Islam through violence.
"Though primarily based in Lahore, Pakistan, Jamaat ul-Fuqra has operational headquarters in New York and openly recruits through various social service organizations in the U.S., including the prison system. Members live in hamaats or compounds, such as Islamberg, where they agree to abide by the laws of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, which are considered to be above local, state and federal authority. Additional hamaats have been established in Hyattsville, Maryland; Red House, Virginia; Falls Church, Virginia; Macon, Georgia, York, South Carolina; Dover, Tennessee; Buena Vista, Colorado; Talihina, Oklahoma; Tulare County, California; Commerce, California and Onalaska, Washington. Others are being built, including an expansive facility in Sherman, Pennsylvania."
On June 2, Colorado resident Richard Giordano wrote to Williams via CFP: "I have read the article that you authored regarding Islamberg, as well as that portion of your new book dealing with the same. In both you state that al Fuqra compounds were established in a variety of locations across the country, Buena Vista, Colorado being (one) such location. This leaves the reader with the impression (you say nothing to counter same) that these compounds are still in existence. I reside in Colorado and drive through Buena Vista several times a month. I took the time to investigate your charge and found it to be FALSE. There exists no current al Fuqra compound in or near Buena Vista, Colorado.
"The compound to which you refer was raided and destroyed in 1992 resulting in the arrest and imprisonments of several members per same. I find it appalling that you did not take the time to provide your readers with up to date information regarding that which you wrote.
"It occurs to me that many of the other sites you referenced in your book may also be defunct. I would, as would other readers I am sure, appreciate your providing a follow up to clear up this disinformation.
On May 30, CFP spiked a story sent by Williams titled, Jihad among junipers and mint juleps: Radical Islam comes to full bloom in the Southern USA. The story was written "with the able assistance of Shawn Michaels, Jamal Babour and Dr. Hugh Cort.
CFP found it defied belief that "hundreds" not dozens of "more African Americans in Islamic garb materialized from the dense forests, the high grass of the open meadows and the rusty trailers that just seconds ago appeared to be deserted."
Nor could we verify the names on the able assistance list other than that of Cort's.
On Aug. 7, 2007 CFP spiked a second story, titled In the Belly of the Beast of Jamaat ul-Fuqra.
Williams wrote this story "with the able assistance of Michael Travis, Bill Krayer, Jamal Mickels, Jeffrey Epstein, Doug Hagmann and Hugh Cort."
On last night's TRUNEWS Radio interview with Wiles, Williams reiterated that even though he did not speak to Hamid Mir, Hugh Cort did.
Williams told Wiles that he believes Mir is in a "precarious" situation. "I believe his life may be in jeopardy," he said.
Williams asserts that Mir is an enemy of the Musharraf Government and has written about bin Laden and the Taliban.
Williams also told Wiles: "If I could see Hamid Mir, I would grab him by the throat and beat the living tar out of him."
CFP believes that Paul Williams was reckless by attributing to Hamid Mir things the Pakistani journalist insists he did not say, a tactic made all the more reprehensible if he believes Mir's life is in danger.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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