Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson, who has yet to officially announce his candidacy, has chosen as his new campaign manager and ex-senator who is reviled by many within the party for being soft on Islamic terrorism and an enemy of the Jewish state.

The Los Angeles Times reported that, as of last week, Thompson's campaign is being run by former Michigan senator Spencer Abraham, who is best known for his total opposition to almost any form of realistic border control between the US and Mexico.

But Abraham, who is a Christian of Lebanese descent, has also carved out an image of himself as a facilitator and supporter of anti-US and anti-Israel Islamic fundamentalism, noted conservative commentator Debbie Schlussel.

During his one term in the Senate, Spencer was the driving force behind a bill that granted more than $250 million in US taxpayers' money to Hizballah-controlled southern Lebanon, Schlussel wrote in a recent column. Nearly every penny went into the terror group's pocket.

Spencer's next move was to exhort American Muslim Association (AMA) director Agha Saeed as a positive influence on the US political scene. That despite the fact that the AMA had recently sponsored events that incited violence against the Jews and upheld Hizballah and Hamas as models for Muslims everywhere.

In 2000, just months before his electoral defeat and the end of his short legislative career, Spencer was one of only four senators who refused to sign an open letter condemning escalating terrorist attacks by Yasser Arafat's PLO against Israeli civilians.

It was previously reported that Thompson was planning to visit Israel in the coming months in order to gain more perspective on the Middle East peace process. That visit, if it still happens, is expected to take on a whole different tone with Spencer Abraham in charge of Thompson's schedule.