Much has changed since my post last 9/11 supporting the Commander-in-Chief’s actions in the War on Terror, but the Voltaire quote remains true: “Our country is that spot to which our heart is bound.” In short order, I will no longer legally be held to my oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” This oath does not disappear; indeed, it is supplemented with another oath, found at the closing of the Declaration of Independence: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
Do Americans still hold strong to that pledge? We once did, but today it seems we forget what it actually means to be an American. Herein, I provide a synopsis of our waning efforts to bring the 9/11 perpetrators to justice, the reasons for our failure, and the havoc certain current events are wreaking on our culture.
Much has happened since our last 9/11 Anniversary, except where it counts, in Pakistan and Afghanistan: the Predator Drone wars continue, combat troop deaths continue, and Osama bin Laden remains at large. Last month marked the end of combat in Iraq, but we are still in Afghanistan, albeit not under the leadership of Obama’s hand-picked General, Mr. Stanley McChrystal. He was removed for cause, and replaced by General David Petraeus, the one-time adversary of MoveOn.org, the organization that made the white “Obama ’08″ bumper stickers you see on your nearest Subaru. But I digress.
As we scale down in our War on Terror, have we gained any clout in the Muslim world? In other words, is Radical Islam less at war with the West now than it was a year ago? Let’s look at the past year in review.
On November 5, Major Nidal Hasan went to work at Fort Hood and assassinated 32 of his co-workers. On Christmas Day, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, aka the Panty Bomber, attempted to detonate a homemade diaper full of explosives on an inbound Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam over Detroit; luckily, he failed. On New Year’s Day, in Denmark, an outraged Muslim tried to kill a cartoonist for drawing Muhammad. He also failed. Then, on May 1, Pakistani-born American Faisal Shahzad attempted to blow up his Pathfinder in Times Square outside the Viacom, Inc. offices, as a response to a South Park episode that mocked Muhammad. All of these men were motivated by one Imam, Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Yemeni. All of this, and somehow, the West, and especially Europe, continues to make concessions to the Islamic world.
What’s going on here? What is with the spike in attacks on American soil? More pointedly, where are the protests from moderate Muslims? The lack thereof supposes we are at odds with Islam writ large, even though President George W. Bush affirmed on 9/13/01, “We are not at war with the Afghani people, and we are not at war with Islam, which most Americans respect as a religion of peace.” Obama reaffirmed yesterday: “We are not at war with Islam.” What’s changed since then?
1. Leadership Problem
According to a recent Newsweek poll, 24% of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim. Now, why would they think that? As we all know, Obama’s a Christian, in the Reverend Wright tradition. Believing a myth, that Obama is a Muslim, only diminishes trust in his leadership. So, what’s with the confusion?
Well, in March 2007, in a New York Times interview, Nicholas Kristof wrote: “Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (it’ll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as ‘one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.”” OK. During his presidential campaign, in a July 2007 debate with Senator Clinton, Senator Obama admitted he would sit down with Iran “without preconditions.” In January 2009, Mr. Obama awarded the first interview of his presidency to the Al-Jazeera network. On June 4, 2009, Obama’s Cairo Speech announcing “A New Beginning” of outreach to Muslims worldwide, regardless of stripe. The speech did little but weaken our stance abroad; Muslims still believe the West is at War with Islam.
“What’s so wrong with being a Muslim?” asked the New Yorker magazine, after Obama denounced their famous tasteless cover, deeming it insulting to Muslims. Obama once answered the question, “Are you a Muslim?” not with a yes or no, but instead, by saying, “Grandfather was,” according to his 1995 autobiography, Dreams from my Father. More famously, his declaration in his 2006 autobiography, Audacity of Hope, which was named for a Wright sermon – see, I told you he was a Christian – he proclaimed the following, provided in it’s entirety for clarity:
“Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”
Some see this as an admission that Obama stands with the Muslim world over the West, but it’s larger than that. I own and have read both of these autobiographies, and I conclude, succinctly, that Obama will always stand for the minority over the majority, with the presumption that minority is always a victim and the majority is always the victimizer. That belief is the President’s true religion. This perpetuation has never been more prevelant than with current events this 9/11.
2. Logic Problem
Last month, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s plans for a Islamic Cultural Center, with an associated mosque, two blocks from WTC Ground Zero, came to light. The construction of a “9/11 Mosque” instantly ignited protest here in America, and now garners 70-30 opposition. As you know, this did not deter our Commander-in-Chief from backing the effort, saying Muslims “have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country,” even though that’s not the point.
On Larry King Live this week, even the Imam admitted the location of the mosque was a mistake: “If I knew this would happen, this would cause this kind of pain, I wouldn’t have done it. My life has been devoted to peacemaking.” Alternately, he stated the building of the mosque must take place, “Because we have to now make sure that whatever we do actually results in greater peace, not in greater conflict.” He stresses if we don’t build a mosque within sight of the site, then a national security threat is posed to the United States. Insomuch, the soft-spoken Imam is actively extorting America.
New Yorkers were outraged. Debra Burlingame, the sister of one of the 9/11 pilots, found the mosque offensive enough to launch www.stopthe911mosque.com. Legally, though, Muslims have the right to build the mosque, although they shirk their responsibility not to. What can we really do in the face of this moral crisis?
Meeting fire with fire, Pastor Terry Jones of Florida vowed to burn Korans on 9/11; at this writing, it is still unclear whether he will go through with it or not. This despicable stunt was vaulted to prominence firstly by David Petraeus, then the State Department, and then the President himself, saying the idea that “we would burn the sacred texts of someone else’s religion is contrary to what this country stands for.”
It has also incited protest among Muslims in the Middle East, with Afghani President Hamid Karzai saying, “The Koran is in the hearts and minds of all … Muslims but the affront against the holy book is a humiliation to the people. We are hopeful that he gives up this affront and should not even think about it.”
Not even think about it? What does America stand for? Remember, Freedom of Speech (and the Freedom of Religion) in America applies even to those voices with which we disagree. In fact, our Freedom of Speech under the First Amendment relies on our tolerance of dissenting voices. This right extends up and to a point, tempered by the Fighting Words Doctrine, upheld as Constitutional, which states that the Freedom of Speech is limited if speech incites violence. Therefore, Americans recognize a responsibility to check their rights if their application does more harm than good. Colloquially, just because someone has the right to do something does not mean it is the right thing to do.
Now, however, this sense and sensibility applies only to Muslim interests. Still, I question the logic of Muslims who demand tolerance, yet have no tolerance for dissenting views. According to their logic, the burning of Korans is more offensive than the burning of bodies, either yours or their own. If Allah were indeed almighty, you would suppose He would value human life as greater than paper and cardboard. This misconception is not Islam’s fault; it is Islamists’ fault.
Time to Buck Up
I believe all of this is the result of some media manipulation on the part of the White House, to defer attention from their inaction on the corruption in Pakistan, the Taliban (which only last week did the Administration admit was a terrorist organization), or the Iranian Regime, which is hastening towards nuclear arms. Many believe the worst, that this Administration is complicit with radical Islam for reasons stated. I do not go that far. I believe this Administration is giving in to extortion by radical Islam.
Afraid of insulting the enemy, the Obama Administration has set out to appease them. History shows this course leads to further, more pronounced failures. The Obama Administration also supposes Americans must have some fault in the plight of the Islamic world; somehow, we have failed them, or more specifically, we have victimized them.
This is bogus, and I’m frankly sick of this self-loathing attitude taking root in our once great nation. It is time we stopped blaming ourselves, and start focusing on the values that have defined America: our economic stability, our projection abroad, and our culture. All three are at risk. Let’s stop being embarrassed of our strengths, for they are rooted in freedom, certain inalienable rights endowed by our Creator, be it God, or Allah, or whomever. Embrace them, and let’s get back to work.
It’s time we buck up; that goes for the Muslims and Americans alike.
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