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."
Contact the news editor
at jenniferbear@dailyemerald.com.
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