Aiding and abetting terrorism
According to ABC, the CIA and Dick Cheney have been secretly supporting Jundullah (”Soldiers of God”), a Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist organization that claims to have killed hundreds of people in Eastern Iran over the past few years. For example, they blew up an army bus on February 14. According to ABC, America has been providing both money and advice to the terrorists;
money for Jundullah is funneled to its youthful leader, Abd el Malik Regi, through Iranian exiles who have connections with European and Gulf states.
Now, let’s turn our attention to the US Code.
According to USC Title 18 §2339A: Providing material support to terrorists, providing, attempting to provide, conspiring to provide, or helping to conceal,
any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who may be or include oneself), and transportation, except medicine or religious materials
[…] the term “training” means instruction or teaching designed to impart a specific skill, as opposed to general knowledge; and
[…] the term “expert advice or assistance” means advice or assistance derived from scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge.
for a specific terrorist act that resulted in at least one death is to be “imprisoned for any term of years or for life”.
But what if you didn’t help a specific terrorist act? Doesn’t matter, according to USC Title 18 §2339B: Providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations, providing, attempting to provide, conspiring to provide, or helping to conceal, any property, tangible or intangible, or service etc. to a known terrorist organization that has killed at least one person is also to be “imprisoned for any term of years or for life”.
And let’s not forget that according to USC Title 18 §2339C: Prohibitions against the financing of terrorism, anyone who “by any means, directly or indirectly […] provides or collects funds with the intention that such funds be used, or with the knowledge that such funds are to be used, in full or in part” for terrorism, or conspires to do so, is to be imprisoned for up to 20 years. If you only conceal “the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of any material support or resources, or any funds or proceeds of such funds” used for financing terrorism, that’s 10 years.
So why haven’t Dick Cheney, McConnell, or Michael Hayden been charged or arrested? The way I am reading the law, they are facing at least 10 years each, probably much more (given multiple charges and conspiracy). Oh wait, international terrorism is a crime only when it’s not in America’s interests…