"Intelligence and law enforcement agencies have disrupted countless plots here and overseas, and worked around the clock to keep us safe.
"I've ordered the Departments of State and Homeland Security to review the visa (waiver) program under which the female terrorist in San Bernardino originally came to this country."
-- President Barack Obama, Dec. 6 Oval Office address.
In the wake of one Muslim terrorist attack after another, President Obama has two proposals: (1) Keep guns out of the hands of U.S. citizens, and (2) Bring 50,000 more Muslims "refugees" into this country. He promises they will be "thoroughly vetted."
How does the U.S. go about vetting refugees to insure that NONE are jihadist terrorists? Suicide bombers? Religious zealots intent on slaughtering American infidels?
A day after the president's address, the Trump campaign responded with this news release:
Syria is in utter chaos. Is it possible to get records from Syria? Can we rely on Syrian records to be accurate? Or do we have to take each refugee at his word? Would a Muslim terrorist intent on killing Americans tell a fib to get into our country?
A day after the president's address, the Trump campaign responded with this news release:
"Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on. According to Pew Research, among others, there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population. Most recently, a poll from the Center for Security Policy released data showing '25 percent of those polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad' and 51 percent of those polled, 'agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah.' Shariah authorizes such atrocities as murder against non-believers who won’t convert, beheadings and more unthinkable acts that pose great harm to Americans, especially women."
It quoted Mr. Trump as saying, "Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”
Do you recall the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center? The 9/11/01 attacks? The Ft. Hoot Shooting massacre? The Boston Marathon bombings? The Chattanooga Recruiting Office? The San Bernardino massacre? Were all perpetrated by Muslim terrorists? All done in the name of Allah? All justified by Islamic religious beliefs?
The president calls those religious beliefs a "perverted interpretation of Islam." But is it? Or is it the very form of Islam that made war against the "infidels" throughout the Middle East, North Africa and as far into Europe as Tours and Vienna? That conquered Constantinople, the Balkans and Greece?
It's clear that not all Muslims adhere to this jihadist strain of Islam. But a great many do. AND, there are 1.57 billion Muslims in the world!
A Nov. 20 Pew poll concludes that 63 million Muslims support ISIS in 11 countries. In Pakistan, 9 percent support ISIS; in Turkey, 8 percent, in the Palestinian Territories, 6 percent. Additionally, there are another 287 million in those 11 countries who "haven't formed an opinion on whether they support ISIS or not." The survey did not cover Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Iran.
Mr. Trump also cites a June 155 poll by the Center for Security Policy in which 600 Muslims living in the U.S. were interviewed and 51 percent of U.S. Muslims polled believe either that they should have the choice of American or sharia courts, or that they should have their own tribunals to apply sharia. Nearly a quarter believe that, “It is legitimate to use violence to punish those who give offense to Islam by, e.g., portraying the prophet Mohammed.”
Nearly one-fifth said that the use of violence in the U.S. is justified in order to make sharia the law of the land in this country.
Even the liberal Daily Beast says that worldwide "only about 12 percent of Muslims support terrorism."
So is Mr. Trump hysterical? Or is he rational? Consider:
If only 1 percent of 50,000 Syrian refugees come to America to make jihad" we would be admitting 500 terrorists adhering to what the president calls a "perverted interpretation of Islam"
Mr. Obama ridiculed Republicans for fearing women and children. He assures us we can properly vet Syrians then concedes that the San Bernardino woman terrorist was properly vetted. If the government can't vet one woman from Pakistan, how can we be confident we can vet 50,000?
Two great values are at stake in this debate.
First, our forefathers came to America for religious freedom. Our constitution guarantees to people of all faiths, absolute freedom of belief, but limited free exercise.
That free exercise is rooted in toleration. Free exercise does not go so far as allowing a professed cannibal to eat his neighbor, or a professed Muslim jihadist to fly jets into the Twin Towers.
Second, the idea of admitting immigrants who come to bomb and shoot us, or to eat us is insane. Our constitution is not a suicide pact.
The difficulty is telling in advance which Muslims are entering the country to wage jihad. If one Pakistani woman can kill 14, and if 19 Saudis can kill 3,000, it makes no sense whatsoever to admit 500 potential jihadists. Or even 50.
It comes down to a question of probabilities and risks. Is it probable if we admit 50,000, that 500 are terrorists? 50? Two? If so, is it worth the risk?
I think this is what Mr. Trump means. I hope that is what Mr. Trump means.
So what exactly does the president mean?
Posted: Saturday, December 12, 2015 12:00 am - QCOnline.com
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