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Official Hamas Gear?

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September 11, 2006

Commentator Aaron Freeman owns an official Hamas baseball cap. When he was asked to lend it for a "show-and-tell" day on threats to America, he thought twice about it.

Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

MICHELE NORRIS, host:

Now we have a story about a symbol of the popularity of Hamas and what it may mean for American security. It's from commentator Aaron Freeman.

AARON FREEMAN: I own a genuine Hamas baseball cap that a friend brought back from Israel. Recently, another friend asked to borrow my Hamas baseball cap for her son's school project. The son was supposed to bring in an artifact that represented a political, military or economic threat to United States stability.

I said sure, he can borrow the cap, but since Hamas is no kind of threat to the U.S., I don't see what it contributes to his project. The mom said she wasn't sure, but she thought it might be interesting for her son to present.

So my wife grabs the cap from its place of honor in my desk drawer and takes it downstairs to be ready when our friends' son comes to pick it up. A moment later, my wife calls up to me. Now I get it. Get what, I say. Now I understand how this Hamas cap does represent a threat to U.S. economic security.

Oh really, how? Well, come down here and look. I did, and a closer inspection of the hat revealed maybe the most serious threat to U.S. economic security yet to arise. The Hamas baseball cap was made in China.

NORRIS: Aaron Freeman is a writer and performer. He lives in Chicago.

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