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News+Opinion » Jack Hunter
Washington refuses to look at why American Muslims become radicalized
Peter King's Ignorance
by Jack Hunter
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Comments (26) Latest in Jack Hunter
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Earlier this month, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) held congressional hearings to determine whether there has been an increase in American Muslim radicalization. Given our ongoing War on Terror, it's not surprising that recent headlines have revealed that some have indeed become radicalized. It's also not unreasonable to assume that more will follow.
But why is this relatively new phenomenon happening? Recognizing this problem is simply a first step. Solving it requires determining and addressing a cause.
Imagine if hearings were held to examine America's illegal immigration problem without discussing the obvious economic factors that foster it. Imagine if Congress held hearings to figure out why air travelers are frustrated with airport security without considering the recent TSA policies that have been the primary cause of the frustration. Imagine Congress trying to determine why so many Americans are now fed up with their government without considering the massive spending and debt that animates today's Tea Party.
Terrorism of any sort is typically a tactic of the weak, in which an individual or group targets innocent civilians for revenge or to advance a cause. In the United States, Islamic terrorism is often portrayed as the work of illogical fanatics who seek to advance their religious cause, even though the terrorists often explain that their actions are in fact retaliation for U.S. military aggression in the Muslim world. Yet, such explanations are typically dismissed by most Americans.
While the intentional killing of innocent civilians is never justified, understanding why it happens is important. Dismissing the very concept of a motive when it comes to terrorism is similar to how the Left dismisses the Tea Party. If the Left was to concede that the Tea Party has any valid points, it gives the movement and its worldview a degree of legitimacy, so liberals simply won't go there. Instead, the Left insists that the Tea Party "hates the President" because he's black or uses some other absurd illogic based on nothing other than their own stereotypes of the movement.
This is no different than when we are told that terrorists simply "hate our freedom," as President Bush and his Republican supporters like Rep. King have said. Yet using two of the very examples cited at King's hearings — Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan and the Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad — what can we deduce about what actually causes domestic Islamic terrorism? If virtually every would-be domestic Islamic terrorist cites the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as their primary motivation, which virtually all of them do including Hasan and Shahzad, might it be time to re-examine and perhaps reassess our foreign policy? Are we attacking the problem of radical Islam or helping to create it? Has the War on Terror actually become a war for it?
Few dare raise these questions. When longtime D.C.-based tax activist Grover Norquist suggested in January that conservatives should begin to have a conversation about the wisdom of our war in Afghanistan, he was swiftly denounced by many on the Right for daring to bring up the matter. Norquist defended his suggestion: "I'm confident about where that conversation would go. And I think the people who are against that conversation know where it would go, too."
But looking at a serious cost-benefit analysis about our current foreign policy is about as likely to happen as Washington leaders addressing and correcting our reckless domestic policy of trillion dollar deficits and debt. It is simply assumed that the status quo, whatever it may be, is somehow beneficial and necessary by its own volition. Or perhaps worse, politicians fear that the many special interests involved could be jeopardized by an examination of the way Washington conducts its business.
This characteristic intellectual laziness among the political class is particularly troubling when it comes to the threat of terrorism, domestic or otherwise. We continue to fret over the Islamic terror effect while steadfastly refusing to even consider the cause of Islamic terrorism, making King's hearings last week little more than another example of Washington's typical grandstanding buffoonery.
Yes, King and his allies on this issue are indeed right that the problem of domestic Islamic terrorism is a concern, but their ongoing blindness toward the primary cause of their concern prevents them from even attempting to examine this issue comprehensively. Peter King might as well have called for congressional hearings on the problem of teenage sex while leaving raging hormones completely out of the equation. And let us hear no more from Washington leaders who want to "keep us safe" until they are first willing to look at their own policies that continue to endanger us the most.
Jack Hunter served as a campaign assistant to Sen. Rand Paul during the midterm election. He also co-wrote Rand Paul's The Tea Party Goes to Washington. Southern Avenger commentaries can be heard every Tuesday and Friday at 7:50 a.m. on The Morning Buzz with Richard Todd on 1250 AM WTMA.
News+Opinion » Jack Hunter
Washington refuses to look at why American Muslims become radicalized
Peter King's Ignorance
by Jack Hunter
Tools
Share on Facebook
Email a Friend
Print Friendly
Add to favorites
Saving…
Add to Custom List
Loading…
Comments (26) Latest in Jack Hunter
Most Republicans remain as committed to big government as the Democrats
Fiscal Terrorists
America must re-examine the federal government's budgetary sacred cows
End Foreign Aid
The reaction to Ron Paul's straw poll victory reveals the GOP's hypocrisy
The Conservative Hijacking of CPAC
The neocons couldn't wait to bring democracy to Iraq, but in Egypt, not so much
Dreading Democracy
Egypt's problems are ours only because we've made them so
America's Foreign Welfare
More »
Earlier this month, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) held congressional hearings to determine whether there has been an increase in American Muslim radicalization. Given our ongoing War on Terror, it's not surprising that recent headlines have revealed that some have indeed become radicalized. It's also not unreasonable to assume that more will follow.
But why is this relatively new phenomenon happening? Recognizing this problem is simply a first step. Solving it requires determining and addressing a cause.
Imagine if hearings were held to examine America's illegal immigration problem without discussing the obvious economic factors that foster it. Imagine if Congress held hearings to figure out why air travelers are frustrated with airport security without considering the recent TSA policies that have been the primary cause of the frustration. Imagine Congress trying to determine why so many Americans are now fed up with their government without considering the massive spending and debt that animates today's Tea Party.
Terrorism of any sort is typically a tactic of the weak, in which an individual or group targets innocent civilians for revenge or to advance a cause. In the United States, Islamic terrorism is often portrayed as the work of illogical fanatics who seek to advance their religious cause, even though the terrorists often explain that their actions are in fact retaliation for U.S. military aggression in the Muslim world. Yet, such explanations are typically dismissed by most Americans.
While the intentional killing of innocent civilians is never justified, understanding why it happens is important. Dismissing the very concept of a motive when it comes to terrorism is similar to how the Left dismisses the Tea Party. If the Left was to concede that the Tea Party has any valid points, it gives the movement and its worldview a degree of legitimacy, so liberals simply won't go there. Instead, the Left insists that the Tea Party "hates the President" because he's black or uses some other absurd illogic based on nothing other than their own stereotypes of the movement.
This is no different than when we are told that terrorists simply "hate our freedom," as President Bush and his Republican supporters like Rep. King have said. Yet using two of the very examples cited at King's hearings — Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan and the Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad — what can we deduce about what actually causes domestic Islamic terrorism? If virtually every would-be domestic Islamic terrorist cites the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as their primary motivation, which virtually all of them do including Hasan and Shahzad, might it be time to re-examine and perhaps reassess our foreign policy? Are we attacking the problem of radical Islam or helping to create it? Has the War on Terror actually become a war for it?
Few dare raise these questions. When longtime D.C.-based tax activist Grover Norquist suggested in January that conservatives should begin to have a conversation about the wisdom of our war in Afghanistan, he was swiftly denounced by many on the Right for daring to bring up the matter. Norquist defended his suggestion: "I'm confident about where that conversation would go. And I think the people who are against that conversation know where it would go, too."
But looking at a serious cost-benefit analysis about our current foreign policy is about as likely to happen as Washington leaders addressing and correcting our reckless domestic policy of trillion dollar deficits and debt. It is simply assumed that the status quo, whatever it may be, is somehow beneficial and necessary by its own volition. Or perhaps worse, politicians fear that the many special interests involved could be jeopardized by an examination of the way Washington conducts its business.
This characteristic intellectual laziness among the political class is particularly troubling when it comes to the threat of terrorism, domestic or otherwise. We continue to fret over the Islamic terror effect while steadfastly refusing to even consider the cause of Islamic terrorism, making King's hearings last week little more than another example of Washington's typical grandstanding buffoonery.
Yes, King and his allies on this issue are indeed right that the problem of domestic Islamic terrorism is a concern, but their ongoing blindness toward the primary cause of their concern prevents them from even attempting to examine this issue comprehensively. Peter King might as well have called for congressional hearings on the problem of teenage sex while leaving raging hormones completely out of the equation. And let us hear no more from Washington leaders who want to "keep us safe" until they are first willing to look at their own policies that continue to endanger us the most.
Jack Hunter served as a campaign assistant to Sen. Rand Paul during the midterm election. He also co-wrote Rand Paul's The Tea Party Goes to Washington. Southern Avenger commentaries can be heard every Tuesday and Friday at 7:50 a.m. on The Morning Buzz with Richard Todd on 1250 AM WTMA.
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