Mansoor Ijaz

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Mansoor Ijaz (born in 1961) is a prominent Saudi-American businessman, a financier, and a media commentator on terrorism, mostly in relation to Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan.[1] He is the founder and chairman of Crescent Investment Management LLC, a Billion dollar New York investment partnership since 1990 that includes James Alan Abrahamson, former director of President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative and the renowned German architect Joachim Hauser.

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[edit] Life

Mansoor Ijaz was born in Tallahassee, Florida and grew up on a farm in rural Virginia.[2] Ijaz received his bachelor's degree in nuclear Physics from the University of Virginia in 1983 and SM degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985, where he was trained as a neural sciences engineer.

Ijaz developed CARAT, a currency, interest rate and equity risk management system. He started his own investment firm in 1990. Away from Crescent's daily business affairs, Ijaz serves on the College Foundation Board of Trustees at the University of Virginia and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

[edit] Media commentator

He used to appear regularly on a variety of financial and political news programs for CNN [1] [2], Fox News, BBC, Germany’s ARD TV, Japan’s NHK, ABC{dn}} and NBC. He has commented for PBS’ Newshour with Jim Lehrer [3], [4], [5], [6] and ABC News Nightline with Ted Koppel. Ijaz has been featured twice in Barron's Currency Roundtable discussions. He has also contributed to the editorial pages of London’s Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, Newsweek International, The Christian Science Monitor, The Weekly Standard, National Review, USA Today, and the Times of India. Among other topics, he commented on the Clinton administration's missed opportunities to capture Osama bin Laden: [7] and Pakistan's nuclear black market [8]

[edit] International negotiator

Mansoor Ijaz has been involved in unofficial negotiations between US and Sudanese governments with regard to extradition of Osama bin Laden. In 1996 the United States Congress had imposed sanctions against the Sudanese government over the terrorist operations on its soil [9]. Mansoor Ijaz reportedly tried to negotiate a deal between Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir and Clinton administration officials including Sandy Berger. Ijaz argued the U.S. should adopt a policy of "constructive engagement" with Sudan, in return for deporting Osama bin Laden [10]. However bin Laden made his way to Afghanistan after the deportation from Sudan. According to Ijaz, that was a missed opportunity to capture bin Laden who has not even been indicted by US authorities [11], a claim that Clinton's administration has denied. The 9/11 Commission found that although "former Sudanese officials claim that Sudan offered to expel Bin Laden to the United States", "we have not found any reliable evidence to support the Sudanese claim." [12]. This issue was a matter of controversial reports and TV debates [13] [14]

Ijaz claimed that he participated in ceasefire negotiations between Indian security forces and Kashmiri separatists in the disputed Kashmir region in August 2000. Ijaz gives himself as the source of the story. Because of this he is no longer an expert for Fox News[15] [16] [17].

[edit] Miscellanea

Mansoor Ijaz appeared in the documentary film, Celsius 41.11.

[edit] References

  1. ^ CNN (October 18, 2001) Mansoor Ijaz: The Pakistan perspective (CNN interview of Ijaz) Obtained February 14, 2007.
  2. ^ Rediff.com (November 28, 2000) The Rediff Interview/ Mansoor Ijaz Obtained February 14, 2007.

[edit] External links

[edit] Transcripts, Interviews, Articles & Commentary with/by Mansoor Ijaz

[edit] Collections

[edit] Undated Material

[edit] 1996

[edit] 1997

[edit] 1999

  • "Pakistan's Uncertain Future," PBS Online NewsHour, October 13, 1999.
  • "Pakistan After Coup," PBS Online NewsHour, October 19, 1999.
  • Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, November 2, 1999: "Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs held hearings to examine the incidence of terrorism in the Middle East and South Asia, focusing on how to combat the growing problem of extremism and its by-product, terrorism, receiving testimony from Michael A. Sheehan, Ambassador at Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Department of State; Mansoor Ijaz, Crescent Equity Partners, New York, New York; Milton Beardon, former CIA Chief in Sudan and Pakistan, Reston, Virginia; and Frederick Starr, Johns Hopkins University Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, and Michael Krepon, Henry L. Stimson Center, both of Washington, D.C. Hearings recessed subject to call."
  • "Indian Airlines Hijacking," PBS Online NewsHour, December 28, 1999. Host Margaret Warner.

[edit] 2000

[edit] 2001

[edit] 2002

[edit] 2003

[edit] 2004

[edit] 2005

[edit] 2006

[edit] Articles & Commentary about him

[edit] 1996

  • Voice of America, October 6, 1996: "American Mansoor Ijaz is a nuclear physicist who has set up a foundation to help improve the standard of living in third world countries. Mansoor Ijaz says corruption is the greatest threat in the post Cold War era and a root cause of problems." Followed by comment by Ijaz.

[edit] 1997

  • David B. Ottaway, "Democratic Fund-Raiser Pursues Agenda on Sudan," Washington Post (SurvivorRightsInternational.org), April 29, 1997: "Ijaz is not registered with the Justice Department as a lobbyist for Sudan and said he has received no compensation from the Khartoum regime. He acknowledged that the congressional ban, as originally devised, would have impinged on his business aspirations in Sudan. But his larger ambition, he said, is to parlay his Democratic connections into a powerful Muslim American lobby with influence on U.S. foreign policy."
  • Jill Abramson, Money Buys a Lot More Than Access, The New York Times, November 9, 1997, Sunday, Late Edition - Final, SECTION: Section 4; Page 4; Column 1.

[edit] 1999

  • Letter to the Editor of Washington Times from the Indian Embassy, June 19, 1999: "'Facts' about India Just Misinformation." Re June 12, 1999, commentary by Mansoor Ijaz: "Delicate dealings in New Delhi."
  • Shaheen Sehbai, "Sanctions waiver approved," Dawn, October 7, 1999: "The final waiver came only after an epic battle between Pakistani and Indian lobbies and last minute long-distance interventions by Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz, Petroleum Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Pakistani lobbyist Charlie Wilson and a prominent Pakistani-American Mansoor Ijaz, who used his clout with the Clinton Administration and key senators to pull it through."

[edit] 2000

[edit] 2001

[edit] 2002

[edit] 2003

[edit] 2004

[edit] 2005

[edit] 2006