But not an actual criminal. Presidents Reagan and H. W. Bush gave $ billions to prop up the corrupt Hussein dictatorship. Clinton imposed crippling sanctions, killing thousands — probably tens of thousands — of civilians. W. Bush tried to bomb Baghdad back to the Stone Age. F0r these they are lauded and feted to this day.

Iraqi-American professor and businessman Shakir Hamoodi, here in Columbia, Missouri, sent around $200,000 to family, friends, and charities back home between 1991 and 2003, in violation of US sanctions, and for that he’s been sentenced to three years in federal prison. The FBI “found no evidence that Hamoodi was aiding the Iraqi government through the financial contributions,” unlike Presidents Reagan and Bush. Hamoodi’s crime was to aid civilians officially designated by the US government as unpersons. And he was an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, which makes him automatically suspect in the eyes of US authorities.

I’m a regular shopper at Hamoodi’s store, World Harvest Foods, and found him friendly, helpful, and intelligent. I’ll continue to shop there, and you can too, via the online store.