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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2003)
Nation & World News U.N. finds terror financiers A new report says that active al-Qaida operatives are funding terrorism through charitable groups By Ken Dilanian Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) ROME — Two years after Presi dent Bush announced that he was shutting down a key al-Qaida financ ing network, the two men at its cen ter continue to live freely and do business in Europe, according to a new United Nations report that urges better international coopera tion against terrorism. The case of the al Taqwa financial empire, which operated in the Mid dle East, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and the Bahamas, un derscores the difficulty of disrupting the shadowy world of terrorist fi nancing. It also suggests global anti terrorism efforts may not be as effec tive as officials claim. U.S. investigators believe that al Taqwa, which means "Fear of God," funneled tens of millions of dollars to al-Qaida, Mamas and other terror ist groups through charities and in formal banking arrangements. Among al Taqwa's board members was a neo-Nazi who called the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks "counterterror against American-lsraeli terror." After Sept. 11, the ll.N. Security Council passed a resolution requir ing civil action against terrorist fund ing even in the absence of criminal convictions. Based on secret intelligence, the two central Figures in al Taqwa, Youssef Nada, 73, and Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, 75, were placed on an international list of terrorist finan ciers, which meant that member na tions agreed to seize their assets. They also were banned from travel ing internationally. Swiss and Ital ian investigators raided their offices in November 2001. Yet neither man is being held, and a Security Council committee report says both are evading the spirit of the antiterrorism sanctions against them. Nada has denied allegations that he funded terrorism. Nasreddin, through his Swiss lawyer, said he helped fi nance the Islamic Cultural Center of Milan, which European investigators say became an al-Qaida recruiting center, only to help poor Muslims. While countries seized al Taqwa's bank accounts, the report says, "noth ing has been done with respect to any of their other physical or business as sets. " That has allowed tire two to con tinue operating businesses such as a Milan hotel and real estate in Switzer land, U.N. investigators found. "Could they still be financing ter rorism? Yes, they could be," said Vic tor Comras, a former State Depart ment official who helped write the U.N. report. '"There is a black hole of information about some of these companies and how their funds are being used." (c) 2003, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. CHEATING continued from page 1 bring a page of notes to the final, Wood had an easy way to cheat. "My plan was to just go in with the final all completed with ail the an swers," she said. But feelings of guilt writhed in the back of her mind as the date of the fi nal exam approached. "I kind of convinced myself that I didn't do anything wrong, but under neath it all I think I knew that 1 did something against my morals and val ues, " Wood said. So she did something most cheaters wouldn't dream of doing. "I didn't get caught for cheating — I turned myself in," she said. According to Student Judicial Af fairs Director Chris Loschiavo, this is a very rare occurrence. Only one or two students in the last four years have come forward on their own and admitted to cheating. Wood's mentor, Daniel Close, di rector of the Family and Human Ser vices program at the College of Edu cation, was also surprised by Wood's open admission of wrongdoing. "We've never seen this before," Close said. "We're still baffled. We don't have experience with this." But besides the surprise of Wood turning herself in, Close was also sur prised that she had cheated at all. "It just didn't make sense,” Close said. "It was sad for me that she al lowed herself to be put in that posi tion. I've had her in four classes; she's been a paper grader for me, I know she's an honest person." Unlike many other students who resort to cheating, Wood wasn't under any extreme circumstances and it was n't a cheat-or-fail situation. She had studied extensively for the final exam and she said the material it covered wasn't difficult to master, but she was still worried about failing to achieve perfect grades. "It was my first term in graduate school and I really wanted to do well," Wood said. "I put more pres sure on myself than anyone else to get good grades. It's almost like I had to prove to myself I'm just as smart as anyone else." Wood actually ended up earning an A in the class, but after the investiga tion it was changed to an F. And as part of her punishment, she had to complete an academic integrity semi nar, retake a class that counts for re search credits and write a letter of apology to her professor. "That was probably one of the more difficult consequences, having to face him and admit what 1 did wrong," Wood said. Although Wood pegs herself as an honest person, this wasn't the first time she cheated on a test. When she was a senior undergraduate she looked at another student's paper dur ing a test, but just like she did in the other case, she confessed to her pro fessor. The consequences for her transgression were less harsh, howev er, and she only got an F for the quiz, not the whole class. Wood said she is very open about her mistakes and has confided in several of her professors, but she hasn't confessed the incident to her parents yet. "I don't want them to think I've al ways cheated." she said. "1 don't want them to be disappointed in me." Twice she's cheated, twice she's turned herself in and now Wood said she has definitely learned her lesson and will never cheat again. "One thing I've learned is grades aren't the most important thing," she said. "When I look back in five years I might remember my GPA but I won't remember what grade I re ceived in a class." 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