Trickle Up Poverty (40 page)

What is happening to the government of the United States? It seems they are unable to provide security from threats both foreign and domestic. A bomb almost goes off in Times Square and who finds it?

Not the military.

Not the FBI. Not the police.

A street vendor selling T-shirts.

Don’t think that the fact a street peddler spotted this bomb was unusual. Remember the passengers on United Flight 93 who took back the plane and saved the capital? Or two tourists who tackled a gunman who was shooting at the White House several years ago? Or the Flying Dutchman who stopped the Underwear Bomber? Over and over again, individual Americans using personal initiative and good judgment have been the true First Responders that saved us from these attacks. The citizens of this country are doing their job, not the inept government hacks whose job it is to keep America safe.

What was the reaction from Big Sis when the Times Square plot was first uncovered? Janet “the system worked” Napolitano said, “We’re taking this very seriously. We’re treating it as if it could be a potential terrorist attack.”60 What world is she living in? How could a car bomb deliberately planted and designed to maximize casualties on the crowded streets in the heart of Manhattan not be an act of terror? Of course it’s terrorism. The only thing scarier than her remark is that this attack SUCCEEDED in every way but one.

This radical Muslim terrorist was able to enter the U.S. on a student visa.

This radical Muslim terrorist was able to obtain a work permit.

This radical Muslim terrorist was able to romance an American woman, marry her and get a green card, then obtain American citizenship. As soon as Shahzad did, the terrorist sprang into action, returned to his native land, learned to make bombs, and then got his orders to blow up Times Square. He was able to procure all the necessary equipment, assemble it, place it in Times Square, and then escape the FBI. He was unhindered when he purchased a last-minute ticket on an airplane and then breezed through security check points while four-year-olds wearing leg braces and elderly women with walkers were scrutinized. He ultimately boarded a plane and almost got away.

This radical Muslim terrorist made one mistake.

The bomb didn’t go off because he failed to set the timer properly, not because of anything we did to prevent it. He did all this without ever coming to the notice of American intelligence. How many others are following this same plan? Maybe they won’t make the same mistakes. When a Republican charged that Shahzad was foiled only because of a lucky break, Missouri Demoncat Representative Ike Skelton said, “What’s wrong with being lucky?” 61 There you have it. Another genius in Washington crossing his fingers hoping our “luck” in the war against terrorism holds up.

An editorial in the Washington Times calls this “Obama’s Good Luck Terrorism Strategy.” In it, they ask the questions I’ve been asking, such as why was Shahzad who, in 2008, was on the Department of Homeland Security’s Traveler Enforcement Compliance System list, pulled from the list by the Obama administration? Why did the Obama administration tell the national Joint Terrorism Task Force, who had been tracking Shahzad’s moves, to back off? The Times writes:

These disturbing revelations about the case of Mr. Shahzad raise pertinent questions regarding U.S. domestic security. Who gave the order to shut down surveillance of Mr. Shahzad? Who removed him from the Traveler Enforcement Compliance System list? Who else has been removed from this and other lists and why? Were they removed simply because they were Muslims and the administration believed that ipso facto they were being persecuted unfairly? 62

For our part, I pray to God that Obama and Homeland Security stop making the willful mistake of refusing to profile those who are most likely to attack us. That goes for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was quick to say, “I want to make clear that we will not tolerate any bias or backlash against Pakistani or Muslim New Yorkers.”63 Does a “backlash” include profiling those who are at war with us in order to prevent another attack? Radical Muslims are waging jihad around the world.

Radical Muslims are strapping bombs to their backs in Russia.

Radical Muslims are strapping bombs to their underwear in America.

Radical Muslims are strapping bombs in their SUVs in Times Square.

Radical Muslims have killed at U.S. Army bases.

But who is the Obama administration most concerned about?

Radical Christians.

That’s right. Barack Hussein Obama is concerned about a group of nine suspects with rifles in Michigan who the FBI claims were plotting to use weapons of mass destruction against the police and the government. Of course, by weapons of mass destruction, Team Obama means improvised homemade explosives. By the way, an interesting development occurred in this case.

While the feds marched in with a heavy show of force to round up these guys with guns, the FBI wasn’t quite as prepared when it came time to present their case in court. In fact, Agent Leslie Larsen, the lead FBI agent on the case, who spent two years on the undercover probe, had difficulty recalling a number of key details when confronted by the defense attorneys. The fuzzy command of the facts baffled the judge, U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts, who said, “I share the frustrations of the defense team … that she doesn’t know anything.”64

Usually, the stench on the bench makes me clench. Not so in this case, at least so far. Judge Victoria Roberts, who, by the way, was a Bill Clinton appointee, after listening to two days of testimony and arguments by the lawyers involved, made an observation that agrees with the position I’ve maintained on my radio show. Roberts noted, “Mere presence where a crime may be planned is not a crime … How does this add up to seditious conspiracy?”65 In other words, the Fed had nothing that would warrant the court to hold the accused without bail until the trial as the Fed had asked. All nine were permitted to return home.

The whole thing was a government red herring designed to fire a shot at anyone who owns a gun in America. The Obama administration wanted to cause law-abiding citizens to think twice about gun ownership. While I oppose violence and, in fact, I’m a pacifist, the fact of the matter is that the Second Amendment gives every citizen the right to bear arms.

“This is an example of radical and extremist fringe groups which can be found throughout our society,” said one FBI special agent whose name isn’t important.66 Attorney General Eric Holder was quick to label it an “insidious plan.”67 Question: Why didn’t the FBI or Eric Holder blast Major Hasan for his “insidious plan” that actually did claim the lives of thirteen troops? Why don’t they label the well-known Muslim radicals living among us like Hasan as “an example of radical and extremist fringe groups”?

Speaking of this obvious double standard, for years liberals have said that someone accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Did they maintain this standard with regard to the so-called Christian militia members? No. What’s more, helicopters were sent out with paramilitary forces to capture the Christian militia members. Why weren’t those same black helicopters sent to the homes and mosques of those plotting to blow up U.S. Military bases such as Fort Dix and Fort Hood? Why aren’t paramilitary forces being commissioned to shut down the vicious and violently dangerous MS-13 gang of criminal thugs running through the streets of our cities?

After all, their motto is “rape, kill, control.”68

The Obama administration has raided the houses of Christian militia members because they allegedly planned to use weapons against the police. And yet we have documented evidence of the MS-13 gang not threatening but actually killing people in towns from Los Angeles to Atlanta. Likewise, we hear reports of communities such as Islamberg, New York, where Muslim military-style training has been observed and, according to FOXNews, “Shoe bomber Richard Reid has been linked to the group, along with convicted D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad.”69 Yet nothing has been done. Why not?

Unfortunately, in the modern politically correct world, certain institutions, religions, and states are more targeted for delegitimization than others. Take the Pentagon, which disinvited evangelist Reverend Franklin Graham from participating in the May 6, 2010, National Day of Prayer event. Even though the son of Billy Graham is the honorary chairman of the National Day of Prayer task force, a source at the Pentagon stated: “While we appreciate [Franklin Graham’s] worldwide outreach, and his willingness to speak at this Pentagon multi-faith event, his presence would be inappro-priate.”70 No explanation why his participation would be “inappropriate.”

As I said, certain religions have been targeted for delegitimization. For example, Jewish nationalism is targeted, Palestinian nationalism is not. Catholic sins are frequently seen to reflect mainstream Catholicism, while Islamist violence is deemed a rare deviation from Islam, “the religion of peace.” Similarly, conservative criticism of liberal critics gets labeled McCarthyism; liberal criticism of conservatives is merely free speech. The calculus of delegitimization reflects a moral hierarchy rooted in New Left sensibilities, refined in universities, spread by much of the media and now by the military.

This explains something: when radical Muslims, based upon the teachings of the Qur’an, threaten and attack us, they are ignored. And yet Obama’s Homeland Insecurity Department is quick to arrest and level charges of sedition against a fringe, rag-tag “Christian” militia who are misrepresenting, at best, the teachings of the Bible.71 Need I point out that the central message of Christianity includes these words of Jesus: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Let’s contrast those words with the teachings of Islam in the Qur’an: “Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war” (Qur’an 9:5). Or how about this one: “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who reject Me. So strike off their heads and cut off their fingers. All who oppose Me and My Prophet shall be punished severely” (Ishaq: 322).72

What could be more clear? Obama is declaring war on the wrong religion.

Obama’s Jihad on Jihad

Of course, such hatred for America exhibited by the Underwear Bomber and Major Hasan among others is consistent with what we know of militant Islam. Rather than acknowledge that we’re at war with Islamo-fascism, and that the Fort Hood massacre was the most recent effort to kill the American infidel in the name of Allah, Big Sis, taking her marching orders from the Commander in Chief, has called for a jihad on the use of the word jihad! In an effort to make nice with Muslim countries, she doesn’t want the government to mention any words such as “jihad” or “Islamic extremism.”

In April, 2010, the Obama administration deleted those words from the U.S. National Security Strategy guidelines. Are we fighting a war on terror or not? If we are, then why aren’t we allowed to name the enemy? Why is Homeland Insecurity more concerned about not offending Muslims than they are defending Americans? We don’t need a public-relations stunt. At least one Senator called such verbal gymnastics nonsense. Here’s what Joe Lieberman said:

We’re in a war not with some nebulous group of violent extremists. We’re not in a war with environmental extremists or white extremists. We’re in a war with violent Islamist extremists and terrorists. The people who attacked us on 9/11 were not just violent and extreme, they were motivated by an ideology of Islamist extremism which took the religion of Islam and essentially transformed it into a radical political ideology.

And if we don’t call it what it is, first off we’re violating the first rule of war, know your enemy. Secondly, how do you defeat your enemy unless you describe it as what it is? And third, in many ways this is an ideological conflict between one set of values and this violent Islamist extremist ideology. Most people in the Muslim world reject this ideology. But if we don’t say there’s a difference between most Muslims in the world and the violent Islamist extremists and terrorists, I think we’re disrespecting most of the Muslims.73

An editorial in the Washington Times rightly points out both the deeper issue and the danger here, saying, “the National Security Strategy is not some kind of outreach initiative, it is the framing document for America’s global safety. The United States cannot effectively combat the root causes of Islamic extremism by ignoring them. Such sanitizing may please the White House, but it’s likely to put the United States in more danger as threats that should have been detected in advance slip by because officials have been trained not to look for them.”74 Which probably explains why the 2009 Homeland Security glossary of domestic “extremist” groups omitted any Muslim groups but listed both Jewish and Christian organizations as potential threats.

Once again, they’re focusing on the wrong religions.

We’ve been told by the government that sleeper cells are here. We’ve known this fact for years. Back in 2004, the FBI estimated there were al-Qaeda sleeper cells in upwards of forty states.75 Let me ask you something: Where are these operatives congregating? Where would Muslim terrorists gather to exchange information and resources? Would they gather in the synagogues, churches, or mosques? It’s not such a difficult question if you use common sense. So, where do you put your FBI agents to ferret out the vermin?

Synagogue, churches, or mosques?

But, in light of the appeasement strategy of the Obama administration, Big Sis won’t do that. Because of her inaction to target the real enemies of America, the enemy is laughing at us. They’re laughing at us from within the mosques here because we have college girls running America.

Worse Than Chamberlain

The world is mocking and taking advantage of President Obama’s weakness. The world is laughing and exploiting President Obama’s naiveté. Listen to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Hitler of Iran in elevator shoes, who flat out called Barack Obama an amateur: “Mr. Obama, you are a newcomer [to politics]. Wait until your sweat dries and get some experience.”76 Obama has traveled the world, bowing to world leaders—a number of which are communist despots. With the START treaty, he has signed away the power of the United States of America without getting anything in return. He wants to dismantle NASA, giving Russia the advantage in space. This man is weakening what was once the greatest superpower the world has ever seen at every turn. Frankly, I’m not surprised.