Paul Craig Roberts is a “crossover loon,” one of those antisemitic “libertarian” zealots who publishes his screeds with equal comfort at the far-left Counterpunch and the far-right Vdare.com. He’s also a 9/11 Troofer, and has called for the military to overthrow the Bush administration.

Today the Investigative Project on Counterterrorism has a look at his bizarre opinions about Islamic Jihad kingpin Sami Al-Arian: The Tyranny of Ignorant Authors.

One of the things about the Sami Al-Arian saga that always confounds is this: It’s understandable that he would have strong supporters who argue he should be released from prison and deported. But if this cause is just, why can’t it be argued without lying about the fundamental issues in his case?

Al-Arian completed his 57-month prison sentence for conspiring to provide goods and services to a terrorist group in April and agreed to be deported. He faces a possible criminal contempt indictment for his refusal to testify before a federal grand jury investigating terror financing in northern Virginia. He claims the subpoena is invalid because his plea deal absolved him from any cooperation with law enforcement.

Perhaps the most ridiculous example of this ill-informed advocacy is on display at the fringe website Counterpunch. It’s an excerpt from an updated book, The Tyranny of Good Intentions, co-authored by a former assistant Treasury secretary and a former adjunct law professor at Georgetown University. It is so wildly incorrect on the basic facts that it reads almost like parody.

Al-Arian is presented by authors Paul Craig Roberts and Lawrence Stratton as the unwitting victim of “the Israel lobby” which targeted him because he was so darned effective at presenting the Palestinian viewpoint in America. That’s it. It has nothing to do with the fact that he served on the governing board of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a designated terrorist organization, or gave refuge to the man who has run the group for the past 13 years and lied about knowing the man’s true identity. The authors either don’t know this or choose not to mention it.

Knowing Roberts’ history, it’s fairly certain that he’s well aware of Al-Arian’s background; but Jew-hatred trumps everything else.