The Left’s Acrobatic Logic on Terror

"The government and media for the past nine months have called this a war against terror... But terror is not the enemy," said Dobbs. "In the interests of clarity and honesty. The enemies in this war are radical Islamists who argue all non-believers in their faith must be killed. They are called Islamists. …Let us be clear. This is not a war against Muslims or Islam. It is a war against Islamists and all who support them."

Without doubt, Dobbs will be forced to apologize for his comments. The veteran anchor might even be fired for his candid evaluation. The hard Left (I appropriately include CNN in this group, despite an apparent, recent push for ideological balance) are employing acrobatic logic: blaming the CIA, FBI and President Bush for not doing enough, but then reacting hysterically to any step they take to prevent the next attack. But it’s nothing new. CNN’s coverage of the Middle East has frequently challenged Al-Jazeera for the most irresponsible on earth ("We begin with the news from the White House that President Bush knew that al Qaeda was planning to hijack a U.S. airliner and he knew it before September the 11," said CNN's Judy Woodruff on NewsNight on May 15.) The network joins legions of other suicidal Western-based media outlets and lawmakers that rationalize radicalism, no matter how violent, and promote conspiracy theories, no matter how preposterous.


Case in point. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has come up with a rather sensible idea. The U.S. government will fingerprint, photograph and register about 100,000 foreign visitors during the first year in an effort to keep tabs on foreigner visiting the U.S. This measure doesn’t hinder or tread on any citizen’s constitutional rights. In fact, many will question why we hadn’t taken these precaution eons ago. Still, it outraged lawmakers, Arabs and immigration groups who say Middle Eastern men will be targeted.

The incontrovertibly ridiculous John Conyers, top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and advocate of every puerile polemical sideshow in America, was one of the first to denounce the system as racial and ethnic profiling. Conyers, a congressman who will work to expand government bureaucracy until his dying day, would have us believe that this rather minor inconvenience is akin to racism. "Rather than helping to protect our citizens, these registration rules will only serve to further alienate the American Muslim community and our Muslim allies abroad, two crucial allies in our fight against terrorism," said Conyers.

Our Muslim allies abroad? Crucial to fighting terrorism? The very least that can be said about Conyers is that he has a sense of humor. More than 700 known or suspected terrorists have applied for visas to enter the United States during the last five months and been turned away. Seven hundred. We are not combating some abstract terrorist organization with members of similar ideological beliefs worldwide, but Arab Muslims predominately from Middle Eastern nations. Not every Muslim, not every Arab, not the religion of Islam, but nevertheless, Arab Muslims.

Nihad Awad, the Executive Director of the Council on Arab Islamic Relations adds to the absurdity when he says that the move " is yet another in a series of government policies that target Muslims and Arabs as if they are genetically predisposed to violence. What is next, forcing American Muslims to wear a star and crescent as a means of identification for law enforcement authorities?"

Funny, I thought Muslims and Arabs had targeted us, not vice versa. But disregarding Awad’s hyperbole, whom else would we target? All 19 of the Sept. 11 hijackers entered the country on valid visas, several staying beyond their expiration dates, and all where Arab Muslims. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind behind 9-11 is believed to have once attended college in North Carolina. Should the U.S. allow the next Khalid Shaikh Mohammed to go to N.Y.U? Ever so cautiously, I quote Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who serves on both the judiciary and intelligence committees: "At this stage at least, one isn't going to look for blonde Norwegians."

Ashcroft’s plan, said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, "smacks of the sort of tactics used by totalitarian regimes like Iraq." Totalitarian imagery has been a favorite of pro-Arab groups. They’ve long used Nazi metaphors to damage Israel’s credibility and they are now utilizing the same tact against the mildest of security measures.

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, echoes Sharry stating the change would add to an already strained process and would fail to improve security: "This is targeting a group of people, the overwhelming majority of whom are innocent, but whose lives will be turned upside down," Mr. Zogby added. "The message it sends is that we're becoming like the Soviet Union, with people registering at police stations."

For spokesman of the Arab cause to compare this country’s common-sense anti-terror policies to the USSR or Iraq nullifies their arguments before the words even leave their lips. It would be in the best interest of Arabs in this country to avoid another terror incident. An additional 3,000 dead Americans and the populace may lose its compassion. They may demand far more extreme measures, for instance, internment camps, or even expulsion of all Arabs.

Surely, peace-loving men of Middle Eastern decent on their way to flight schools or other American educational facilities and tourists sites will be sympathetic enough to take 15 minutes out of their busy days to be fingerprinted and then intermittently check in with authorities. In return, Americans should demonstrate their good faith by volunteering to undergo similar measures next time they take their families to visit Mogadishu or Teheran.