So now the American people learn that the State Department will be “footing the bill for Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the controversial ground zero mosque, as he embarks on a tour of the Middle East.” The publicly funded trip intends to foster “greater understanding” about Muslim communities in the United States. Rauf, who refuses to acknowledge that Hamas is a terrorist groupand believes that U.S. foreign policy was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, seems an unlikely emissary to promote American interests. But let us put him to the test. Elieen F. Toplansky – American Thinker