Another big catch in the war on terror....

or so we are to think....

A couple in Ohio, with dual citizenship, US and Lebanese, was caught conspiring to send money to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia formed to fight Israel that the US government has labeled as terrorists.

Amazing. Another success in our war on terror.... except....

Hmmm...

If I read the article correctly, all the money that was to be sent was supplied by the FBI....
And the person who asked them to send the money in exchange for payment was an FBI informant or more aptly an agent provocateur....
So let me get this straight, this couple was approached, offered money to send money "back home" to Lebanon to reach Hezbollah, and are thus charged with a crime of conspiring to fund terrorism?

I would love to do a survey. Go and ask 100 people from all walks of life if they would be willing to deliver money to some overseas shadowy recipient in exchange for some ridiculous sum of money (the article mentions they hoped to get paid $300,000 - $400,000 for delivering $500,000 - $1,000,000). Lets even say hypothetically that the recipient is Hezbollah... Hmm Wikipedia dot com .... look up hezbollah.... "is a Shi'a Islamist political and paramilitary organisation based in Lebanon.[3] Hezbollah is now also a major provider of social services, which operate schools, hospitals, and agricultural services for thousands of Lebanese Shiites, and plays a significant force in Lebanese politics." Hmm they don't sound so bad... Anything in there about attacking America or Americans? Nope....

Especially in this challenging economy, I guarantee you a substantial percentage would say "what the heck" and agree to it.

And then lets charge each one of those with conspiring to fund terrorism.

Fair's fair, right?

The credibility of our law enforcement is at stake if the use of such tactics becomes more widespread. Just reading that article on its face raises significant questions about this investigation and charge. Of course, all of us "reasonable" people will say, they should not have agreed and they should have called the police. But tempt any person enough, and almost anyone will cave in to the temptation being dangled in front of them to violate their own principles. As they say, "every person has their price".

If law enforcement can send in fake criminals to incite and fund criminal activity (effectively bribe people to commit crime or go along with a crime) and then charge all of those who go along, that's not law enforcement. That's criminal conspiracy and selective prosecution. In lay terms, the "criminals" were "framed". Plain and simple.

The problem takes an even more unfortunate twist when those targeted are seemingly exclusively from one religious or ethnic group.