What’s wrong with this picture?
Posted on National Review Online-By R. JAMES WOOLSEY & SETH LEIBSOHN-On October 6, 2011:
“Shortly after 9/11, many thought it was imperative to teach about and promote the heroes of that deadly day. One such hero whose life and example we can never learn enough about was Rick Rescorla. Originally from England, he came to America and distinguished himself as an Army infantry officer in Vietnam. Later he became head of security at Morgan Stanley, and, after the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, he knew the terrorists would go after the Twin Towers again. He warned the authorities continually; moreover, he led regular evacuation drills between 1993 and 2001. On 9/11, he successfully led almost every Morgan Stanley employee out to safety. He himself did not make it. His last known words were, “As soon as I make sure everyone else is out.” He said those words to another Morgan Stanley employee who had yelled to him that he had to get out too. Rick Rescorla’s remains were never found.
Rick’s life was not wasted; he saved a lot of people. But if the government had listened to him before 9/11, he would have saved even more. Rick was somebody who should have been posted at the top of our intelligence community, but he wasn’t. Today, we are still not listening to the most creative and prophetic thinkers among us. One of them is Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum on Democracy. He is the intellectual Rick Rescorla of our day.
Dr. Jasser, a practicing Muslim, is a physician and former lieutenant commander in the Navy — someone who, like Rick Rescorla, served his country with distinction, and continues to do so both in his medical practice and in his public warnings and teachings about the dangers from radical Islam. One of his efforts has been to confront members of Muslim Brotherhood organizations such as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), who continually denigrate America. Jasser’s view is that we should promote the virtues of American freedom and tolerance, which American Muslims enjoy, and should also publicize the way our efforts abroad have given freedom to Muslims in other countries.
Indeed, while most so-called mainstream Muslim and Arab groups in America feed hysteria and spread conspiracy theories, Dr. Jasser despises the grievance narrative; he loves America. Now more than ever, he is the kind of man our government should listen to — and, more important, he is the kind of man our government should use.
But, although Dr. Jasser has offered to serve his country again, this administration has ignored this unique opportunity. Last year, recognizing the need for a shift in our thus-far-ineffective public-diplomacy program, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and others nominated Dr. Jasser to serve on the State Department’s U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. The commission is charged with “Appraising U.S. Government activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics.” There could be nobody better suited to serve in this role. Here is some of what Dr. Jasser said when testifying — extemporaneously — before the House Committee on Homeland Security earlier this year:
“Until we have an ideological offense into the Muslim communities domestically and globally to teach liberty, to teach the separation of mosque and state, you are not going to solve this problem. . . .
. . . Our organization has . . . created a Muslim liberty project that looks at inoculating Muslims with the ideals of liberty, giving them the empowerment to counter imams, to feel that they can represent their own faith. . . .
This is our homeland. And we want to begin, if you will, a counter-jihad, an offense to counter these ideas. That, I think, is the best way to use our resources as a nation, and remember that the freedoms that we have don’t come with a cheap price, and we need to give back.”
This is, simply, Dr. Jasser’s life’s work. This is the kind of thought and talk we need more of, not less. This is the intellectual Rescorlaesque effort we should be promoting and the government should be availing itself of.
Upon his nomination, Dr. Jasser submitted reams of information about himself to the State Department and the White House Office of Personnel Management. He spent hours upon hours in interviews. He passed every clearance with flying colors, including receiving confirmation of a top-secret clearance. This is a man, after all, who gave eleven years of service to the U.S. Navy, including some very sensitive assignments. And, now, after 15 months of vetting, he has learned that his nomination has been “removed from consideration,” with no explanation.
What explanation could there be? Unlike some commission members, Dr. Jasser was not a donor to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. But something else must have been at work as well. That something might have ranged from a lack of understanding of the dangerousness of jihadism and Islamism to a lack of respect for the muscular advocacy of the ideas of freedom and liberty. And, probably, one other thing was at work too: a political decision based on Dr. Jasser’s open criticism of the administration for its lack of clarity in the war of ideas and its inability to identify the ideology we are fighting. It should be noted, however, that Dr. Jasser is an equal-opportunity critic: He has spoken out against both the Bush and the Obama administrations when he believes they have faltered.
Clarity in the war of ideas, the ability to identify the ideology we are fighting, and expertise in the religion of Islam are precisely what we need. It’s ten years late, but not too late. It is a shame we will not soon be availing ourselves officially of Dr. Jasser’s work. It is work that we sorely need. Indeed, it is intellectual and rhetorical courage and heroism. We ignore and spurn it at our continued peril.”
- R. James Woolsey is the chairman of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and was the director of central intelligence from 1993 to 1995. Seth Leibsohn is a radio host and the co-author of The Fight of Our Lives.
Source:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/279276/zuhdi-jasser-s-counter-jihad-r-james-woolsey?page=1
Note: The following articles and/or blog posts and videos relate to this disturbing issue-You Decide:
I. American Muslims speak out against the enforcement of shari‘ah law in America!
News Release posted on Act for America!-By Gregg Edgar and Gordon C. James, Public Relations-On August 11, 2011:
“Washington, DC (August 31, 2011) – A coalition of diverse American Muslim leaders has announced support for a proposed bill in the Michigan State Assembly, HB 4679, that is intended to bar Michigan courts from enforcing any foreign law, if doing so violates any rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and/or the state of Michigan’s constitution.
Like many Americans, members of the American Islamic Leadership Coalition (AILC) have been observing the efforts of a growing number of state legislatures, which are seeking to address the incompatibility of various shari‘ah court systems around the world with the principles and foundations of our Constitutional republic and its laws. As American Muslims, we believe that the law should treat people of all faiths equally, while protecting Muslims and non-Muslims alike from extremist attempts to use the legal instrument of shari‘ah (also known as Islamic jurisprudence, or fiqh) to incubate, within the West, a highly politicized and dangerous understanding of Islam that is generally known as “Islamism,” or “radical Islam.”
We see no evidence that statutes like HB 4769 will adversely impact the free exercise of our personal pietistic observance of Islam, which is not in conflict with the U.S. or Michigan constitutions. We recognize that not only Muslims, but also Jews, Christians and all people of faith need the government to protect their right to peaceful assembly, mediation and arbitration free of coercion, but also within the bounds of American constitutional principles. Therefore, we stand together as a diverse coalition in support of any legislation that serves to protect and integrate our communities into the fabric of this great nation, by strengthening our accountability to the laws of the land, and the constitutions of the various states in which we live.
As American Muslims we are conscious of the fact that Muslim Brotherhood legacy groups and other Islamists and their surrogates in the U.S. are trying their best to portray any opposition to manifestations of shari‘ah law as “racism” and “discrimination against Muslims.” However, as a coalition of traditional, liberal and secular Muslim Americans, we denounce this fear-mongering and playing of the race card, which only serves to mask the Islamists’ highly politicized agenda. According to AILC member C. Holland Taylor, “the Islamist agenda threatens not only the well-being of the United States and its inhabitants, but also undermines and distorts the highest principles of Islam itself.”
“Michigan House Bill 4769 seeks to ensure that American Muslims can live in freedom and safety, in accordance with our constitutional principles, and not be enveloped by the tentacles of medieval, man-made laws that have been falsely accorded divine status,” said the AILC.
“To equate Bill 4769 to racism is not only dishonest, but is a poor and clumsy attempt at making ordinary Muslim Americans feel alien in their own homeland, while creating a rift between Muslims and the rest of our country,” said AILC member Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser. Michigan House Bill 4769 states:
“[To] ...limit the application and enforcement by a court, arbitrator, or administrative body of foreign laws that would impair constitutional rights; to provide for modification or voiding of certain contractual provisions or agreements that would result in a violation of constitutional rights; and to require a court, arbitrator, or administrative body to take certain actions to prevent violation of constitutional rights.”
The AILC statement reinforces the American Muslim community’s commitment to the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and the separation between religion and state. Unfortunately, Islamist groups would like to compromise this separation and provide cover to medieval, misogynistic and homophobic laws that no Muslim is obligated to demand as public law.
“Shari‘ah law, wherever it has been applied in the public domain, be it in Iran, Saudi Arabia or Pakistan, has resulted in untold misery and oppression of Muslims, in particular Muslim women, by Islamists and dictators who invoke shari‘ah law to justify their rule,” said AILC member Manda Ervin. “Many of us fled the Muslim world to escape shari‘ah law and to practice Islam in our personal lives, by moving to the USA and other western countries. We do not wish these laws to follow us here,” she concluded.
The Michigan state senators are not alone in expressing concern about foreign laws creeping into North America under the guise of religious freedom. Many Muslim academics, religious scholars and human rights activists have voiced their concern.
The contrast between what has occurred in Britain and in Canada provides a roadmap for how the U.S. may address these legal issues. In Britain, shari‘ah arbitration courts have been allowed to assume virtually unchecked control of legal arrangements in many Muslim communities. This is creating a ghettoized, medieval and separatist state within Britain. In Canada, however, local Muslims led strong opposition to the Islamists’ shari‘ah agenda and were successful in preventing its implementation, thereby sparing our Northern neighbor the fate of so many Muslims in the United Kingdom, where women are commonly subjected to forced marriage and the denial of basic human rights.
“We Muslims in Canada defeated an attempt by Islamists to sneak shari‘ah law into Ontario,” said AILC member Tarek Fatah, who has been on the front lines of this struggle for many years. “We recognized the damage shari‘ah had inflicted on Muslims in the UK, and its oppressive nature in Muslim-majority countries, and decided to oppose it. We urge American Muslims not to succumb to the Islamists’ propaganda, and to back the Michigan Bill, which will protect Muslims and non-Muslims alike from the impact of foreign laws that violate the U.S. or Michigan constitutions.”
About the American Islamic Leadership Coalition (AILC):
The American Islamic Leadership Coalition (AILC) is a diverse coalition of liberty-minded, North American Muslim leaders and organizations. AILC’s mission advocates for defending the US Constitution, upholding religious pluralism, protecting American security and cherishing genuine diversity in the faith and practice of Islam. AILC provides a stark alternative to the Islamist organizations that claim to speak for what are diverse American Muslim communities. For more information on AILC, please visit our website at http://www.americanislamicleadership.org/.
Source:
II. Sharia Compliance in Dearborn, Mich.!-Posted on The Patriot Post-By Cal Thomas (Archive)-On April 26, 2011:
http://patriotpost.us/opinion/cal-thomas/2011/04/26/sharia-compliance-in-dearborn-mich/
III. Islamic Law Comes to Dearborn!-Posted on Big Government-By Pamela Geller-On April 22, 2011:
http://biggovernment.com/pgeller/2011/04/22/islamic-law-comes-to-dearborn/
IV. State Dept Considering 5,662 ‘Diversity Visa’ Applicants from Terror States!-Posted on CNSNews.com-By Elizabeth Harrington-On October 11, 2011:
VI. Exposed! Muslim Brotherhood's U.S. front groups: ‘Investigation documents 'terrorists with neckties' in nation's capital!’-Posted on WND.com-On October 7, 2011:
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=119427
VII. Google Censor Flags WND's 'Muslim Mafia' Ad!-Posted on WND.com-On October 6, 2011:
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=352165
VIII. Three-quarters of non-Muslims believe Islam negative for Britain: “Muslim organisation calls for efforts to improve awareness as four-fifths of those polled admit to little knowledge of the faith”-Posted on Guardian.co.uk-By Haroon Siddique-On August 2, 2010:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/02/poll-islam-negative-britain
IX. Stakelbeck on Terror: Muslim Brotherhood's Growing Influence!-Posted on CBN.com-On September 21, 2011:
X. Smear, Inc.: Silencing the Critics of Islamic Supremacism!-Posted on FrontPageMag.com-By Mark Tapson-On September 14, 2011:
http://frontpagemag.com/2011/09/14/smear-inc-silencing-the-critics-of-islamic-supremacism/
XI. DOJ in bed with Islamic supremacist groups!-Posted on WND.com-By Pamela Geller-On September 6, 2011:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=342081
XII. Why Has The Muslim Brotherhood Been Banned In Russia?-Posted on From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood#In_the_West
XIII. Video: Is Our President A Terrorist?-Posted on YouTube.com-By amy2x-On June 4, 2011:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-fmtJ5kh-50#at=2334
XIV. Video: The Basics of Shariah Law By Lt. Gen. (Ret.) W.G. Jerry Boykin!-Posted on YouTube-Byferval59-On January 23, 2011:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G60oyejzYII&NR=1
Note: The following eye opening article and/or blog post reveals a George Soros funded unincorporated association by the name of “Peace and Security Funders Group (PSFG)”, which was established in 1999 and consists of more than 50 private and public foundations that give a portion of their $27 billion in combined assets to leftist organizations that undermine the war on terror in several interrelated ways, to include one that strives to eradicate America's national borders and institute a system of mass, unregulated migration into and out of the United States -- thereby rendering all distinctions between legal and illegal immigrants anachronistic, and making it much easier for aspiring terrorists to enter our country-You Decide:
Funding the War Against the War on Terror!-Posted on FrontPageMagazine.com-By: John Perazzo –On October 6, 2006:
http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=2309
Note: What follows is a web site that reveals a George Soros funded group titled “Arab American Institute (AAI)”, which is a self-described "nonpartisan" group, that was established in 1985 to promote "Arab American participation in the U.S. electoral system" and to advocate for the "domestic and policy concerns" of that demographic.
The AAI has developed a strong reputation for organizing "voter-education" campaigns and acting as a liaison between the Arab American community and the major national political parties. The AAI opposed the end of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime and opposes Israel’s security wall.
Also included is an excerpt from the booklet that reveals the historical background of Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. and Canada, along with revealing that communities of Arab Americans and American born Muslims are now dominated by advocacy organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s and have assumed a particularly important role after 9/11. These groups are linked in the American Muslim Political Coordination Council (AMPCC), which was set up by the former American Muslim Alliance (AMA), since linked with the Muslim American Society (MAS), along with the American Muslim Council (AMC), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC):
Arab American Institute (AAI)-Posted on DiscoverNetWorks.org:
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6174
An Activist's Guide to Arab and Muslim Campus and Community Organizations in North America!-Posted on FrontPageMag.com-By: Stephen Schwartz-On May 26, 2003:
http://archive.frontpagemag.com/Printable.aspx?ArtId=18058
Note: My following blog posts contain numerous articles and/or blog posts and videos that relate to this disturbing issue-You Decide:
Godfather of The Islamic Revolution!
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/godfather-of-the-islamic-revolution/
Should Americans Fear Islam?
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/should-americans-fear-islam/
The Islamic Infiltration: Inside Our Government, Armed With Our Secrets!
Muslim Brotherhood Declares War on America-Will America Notice!
What are CAIR's obstructionist goals?
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/6951/
CAIR sues Oklahoma for banning Islamic law!
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/cair-sues-oklahoma-for-banning-islamic-law/
Federal judge confirms CAIR is Hamas!
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/federal-judge-confirms-cair-is-hamas/
Europe's Looming Demise: Changes on the Continent Cloud Our Future!
Is it important to understand the Marxist assault on the foundations of our system?
Note: If you have a problem viewing any of the listed blog posts please copy web site and paste it on your browser. Be aware that some of the articles and/or blog posts or videos listed within the contents of the above blog post(s) may have been removed by this administration because they may have considered them to be too controversial. Sure seems like any subject matter that may shed some negative light on this administration is being censored-What happened to free speech?-You Decide.
“Food For Thought”
God Bless the U.S.A.!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E&feature=related
Semper Fi!
Jake
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