BrainStorm
06-04-2010, 04:24
Self-Inflicted Defeat (http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/selfinflicted_defeat.html)
The highest levels of government enforce a policy on the military which effectively prevents consideration of the enemy doctrine of jihad.
At a recent briefing on cyber-terrorism in Washington, D.C., a former Navy SEAL repeatedly apologized for any statements in his lecture that could be misconstrued as anti-Muslim. He carefully qualified every negative reference to Muslims or Islam as excluding the vast majority of "peaceful[,] law-abiding" Muslims. The level of caution displayed by a military officer who had recently returned from a tour in Iraq and had served at a high level of military intelligence was disconcerting. The former SEAL wholeheartedly -- perhaps unwittingly -- accepted the role of "dhimmi," an inferior who, under the provisions of Islamic law, does not have the right to self-defense.
How could a member of an elite division of the U.S. Navy who had withstood arduous military preparation be fearful of merely offending Muslims? How does this mentality influence his effectiveness as a soldier and officer? His action in combat?
During World War II, the U.S. government and military relentlessly combated threats from Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperialist Japan abroad and acted forcefully against domestic threats. Any resident of the U.S. who might engage in subversive activities was a legitimate target. Our mission was clearly defined as a devastating defeat to the enemy to protect the nation and preserve liberty throughout the free world. Once war had been declared, it would have been unthinkable to waste precious resources fine-tuning definitions of the enemy, reaching out to "moderate Nazis" or "peaceful Fascists," putting our troops through sensitivity training, or striving to accommodate enemy demands. We could not afford the luxury of undue concern about inflicting civilian casualties in enemy territory. The primary, unassailable objective was getting the job done -- fighting ruthless tyranny and protecting American allies and interests.
American citizens, well-informed of the threats faced by our nation, fully supported our valiant troops and participated in the war effort to the point of personal sacrifice. No apologies were offered for Japanese internment camps, which were viewed as a legitimate security precaution. Though most Japanese-Americans were loyal citizens, there was evidence of espionage and treasonous activity by some. Today, on the contrary, jihadist infiltration is deliberately underestimated and overlooked.
During World War II, experts in Nazism and Japanese imperialism were viewed as vital assets to inform and assist government officials and military brass. But they were carefully scrutinized to weed out disloyal elements. Acts of perfidy were dealt with swiftly and harshly. Placing a Nazi in a high-level Pentagon position with access to top-secret war data and giving him the ability to control military strategists and censor vital information would have been punishable by death for treason.
What has happened in the interval? Today we send our military personnel into battle while on the home front, the enemy fights experts who could advise the government and military brass. In one such instance, Hesham Islam -- who has ties to a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate (ISNA Islamic Society of North America) -- served as top advisor to the U.S. deputy defense secretary and was the third person in the Pentagon chain of command. In 2008, Hesham Islam clashed with Army Major Stephen Coughlin, one of the foremost experts on the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic jihad doctrine. When Major Coughlin presented well-documented evidence that classic Islamic doctrine -- and not a radical fringe -- does in fact support global jihad with the aim of establishing a worldwide caliphate under shari'ah law, Hesham Islam admonished him to tone down his "anti-Muslim rhetoric."
In his military briefings, Major Coughlin warned of plans by Muslim Brotherhood subsidiaries to infiltrate U.S. government and military institutions and destroy Western civilization from within. An irate Hesham Islam saw to it that Major Coughlin's Pentagon contract was terminated. And, confirming Major Coughlin's warning, Hesham Islam did in fact invite leaders from ISNA -- an un-indicted co-conspirator in the Hamas terrorist funding trial -- into the Pentagon.
This is just one example of how the highest levels of the U.S. government dictate a military culture based on refusal to identify the looming threat of Islamic jihad. And the situation has worsened since the Obama administration came to power. All-out destruction of the enemy is eschewed in favor of diplomacy and appeasement. The intelligence community is hobbled by an increasingly dominant Department of Justice that treats terrorists like common domestic criminals and grants them full constitutional rights. The focus has been diverted from life-saving intelligence-gathering to the distracting and time-consuming building of court cases for prosecution. Meanwhile, critical intelligence-sharing with congressional oversight committees has been curtailed.
Now the Obama administration is searching out "moderate" elements in Hezb'allah, a designated Islamic terrorist group. Homeland security and counterterrorism czar John Brennan recently described the jihadist group as "a very interesting organization" that has evolved from "purely a terrorist organization" to a political movement whose members serve in the Lebanese parliament and cabinet. In fact, Hezb'allah, which is an Iranian proxy, has gained virtual control of the Lebanese government as a result of U.N. Resolution 1701, imposed as a "peaceful" resolution of the 2006 "Lebanon war." The promised "beefed-up" UNIFIL force that was supposed to help the legitimate Lebanese government disarm Hezb'allah has had the opposite result. Already in 2008, then Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, stated "in terms of capabilities, in terms of range of weapons they have, in terms of internal discipline," Hezbollah makes al-Qaeda look like "a minor league team." Today we learn that Iran has transferred scuds to Hezb'allah via Syria. But John Brennan explains that the administration will not use the terms "'Islamist' and 'jihadist' because jihad is holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam, meaning to purify oneself or one's community."
Our citizens at home and our troops on the battlefield are disarmed by a narrative that imposes respect for a political-religious system that seeks their subjugation and death. As we saw with the former SEAL, our troops are taught that they must not openly expose the ideology of Islam, its goals and strategy. They risk their lives not to defeat the enemy and liberate local population, but to facilitate the consolidation of Islamic states governed by shari'ah law. Instead of combating jihad, they empower it!
The highest levels of government enforce a policy on the military which effectively prevents consideration of the enemy doctrine of jihad.
At a recent briefing on cyber-terrorism in Washington, D.C., a former Navy SEAL repeatedly apologized for any statements in his lecture that could be misconstrued as anti-Muslim. He carefully qualified every negative reference to Muslims or Islam as excluding the vast majority of "peaceful[,] law-abiding" Muslims. The level of caution displayed by a military officer who had recently returned from a tour in Iraq and had served at a high level of military intelligence was disconcerting. The former SEAL wholeheartedly -- perhaps unwittingly -- accepted the role of "dhimmi," an inferior who, under the provisions of Islamic law, does not have the right to self-defense.
How could a member of an elite division of the U.S. Navy who had withstood arduous military preparation be fearful of merely offending Muslims? How does this mentality influence his effectiveness as a soldier and officer? His action in combat?
During World War II, the U.S. government and military relentlessly combated threats from Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperialist Japan abroad and acted forcefully against domestic threats. Any resident of the U.S. who might engage in subversive activities was a legitimate target. Our mission was clearly defined as a devastating defeat to the enemy to protect the nation and preserve liberty throughout the free world. Once war had been declared, it would have been unthinkable to waste precious resources fine-tuning definitions of the enemy, reaching out to "moderate Nazis" or "peaceful Fascists," putting our troops through sensitivity training, or striving to accommodate enemy demands. We could not afford the luxury of undue concern about inflicting civilian casualties in enemy territory. The primary, unassailable objective was getting the job done -- fighting ruthless tyranny and protecting American allies and interests.
American citizens, well-informed of the threats faced by our nation, fully supported our valiant troops and participated in the war effort to the point of personal sacrifice. No apologies were offered for Japanese internment camps, which were viewed as a legitimate security precaution. Though most Japanese-Americans were loyal citizens, there was evidence of espionage and treasonous activity by some. Today, on the contrary, jihadist infiltration is deliberately underestimated and overlooked.
During World War II, experts in Nazism and Japanese imperialism were viewed as vital assets to inform and assist government officials and military brass. But they were carefully scrutinized to weed out disloyal elements. Acts of perfidy were dealt with swiftly and harshly. Placing a Nazi in a high-level Pentagon position with access to top-secret war data and giving him the ability to control military strategists and censor vital information would have been punishable by death for treason.
What has happened in the interval? Today we send our military personnel into battle while on the home front, the enemy fights experts who could advise the government and military brass. In one such instance, Hesham Islam -- who has ties to a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate (ISNA Islamic Society of North America) -- served as top advisor to the U.S. deputy defense secretary and was the third person in the Pentagon chain of command. In 2008, Hesham Islam clashed with Army Major Stephen Coughlin, one of the foremost experts on the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic jihad doctrine. When Major Coughlin presented well-documented evidence that classic Islamic doctrine -- and not a radical fringe -- does in fact support global jihad with the aim of establishing a worldwide caliphate under shari'ah law, Hesham Islam admonished him to tone down his "anti-Muslim rhetoric."
In his military briefings, Major Coughlin warned of plans by Muslim Brotherhood subsidiaries to infiltrate U.S. government and military institutions and destroy Western civilization from within. An irate Hesham Islam saw to it that Major Coughlin's Pentagon contract was terminated. And, confirming Major Coughlin's warning, Hesham Islam did in fact invite leaders from ISNA -- an un-indicted co-conspirator in the Hamas terrorist funding trial -- into the Pentagon.
This is just one example of how the highest levels of the U.S. government dictate a military culture based on refusal to identify the looming threat of Islamic jihad. And the situation has worsened since the Obama administration came to power. All-out destruction of the enemy is eschewed in favor of diplomacy and appeasement. The intelligence community is hobbled by an increasingly dominant Department of Justice that treats terrorists like common domestic criminals and grants them full constitutional rights. The focus has been diverted from life-saving intelligence-gathering to the distracting and time-consuming building of court cases for prosecution. Meanwhile, critical intelligence-sharing with congressional oversight committees has been curtailed.
Now the Obama administration is searching out "moderate" elements in Hezb'allah, a designated Islamic terrorist group. Homeland security and counterterrorism czar John Brennan recently described the jihadist group as "a very interesting organization" that has evolved from "purely a terrorist organization" to a political movement whose members serve in the Lebanese parliament and cabinet. In fact, Hezb'allah, which is an Iranian proxy, has gained virtual control of the Lebanese government as a result of U.N. Resolution 1701, imposed as a "peaceful" resolution of the 2006 "Lebanon war." The promised "beefed-up" UNIFIL force that was supposed to help the legitimate Lebanese government disarm Hezb'allah has had the opposite result. Already in 2008, then Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, stated "in terms of capabilities, in terms of range of weapons they have, in terms of internal discipline," Hezbollah makes al-Qaeda look like "a minor league team." Today we learn that Iran has transferred scuds to Hezb'allah via Syria. But John Brennan explains that the administration will not use the terms "'Islamist' and 'jihadist' because jihad is holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam, meaning to purify oneself or one's community."
Our citizens at home and our troops on the battlefield are disarmed by a narrative that imposes respect for a political-religious system that seeks their subjugation and death. As we saw with the former SEAL, our troops are taught that they must not openly expose the ideology of Islam, its goals and strategy. They risk their lives not to defeat the enemy and liberate local population, but to facilitate the consolidation of Islamic states governed by shari'ah law. Instead of combating jihad, they empower it!