Among those most aggressively promoting the idea that
radical Islamists are indistinguishable from any other
Muslims are a number of Arab-American and
Muslim-American organizations long associated with
jihadists and their causes
war on terror
Know thy enemy
By Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.
The biggest imponderable concerning the war on terror
is whether the American people and their leaders are
clear on a central question: Exactly who is the enemy
in this war? We are, after all, not fighting some
abstraction called "terror." The truth is we are
engaged in a death struggle with people who use terror
— usually involving the deliberate murder of innocent
civilians — as an instrument to advance their agendas.
As to precisely who those people are, the past
twenty-five months have brought to light a bewildering
array of terrorist organizations pursuing a variety of
stated objectives, usually with help from this or that
rogue state-sponsor. But one thing should be clear
post-9/11: The most determined, numerous and dangerous
of these enemies are radical, violent Muslims known as
"Islamists."
Most experts believe that the Islamists are, at
present, a small percentage of the Muslim faithful
worldwide. The danger is that, since there are
approximately 1.6 billion Muslims, even a small
percentage could mean there are millions available to
serve as cannon-fodder for the radicals. Worse yet, all
things being equal, their numbers will continue to
grow, thanks in no small measure to the assiduous
efforts of Islamist regimes in Saudi Arabia and Iran
(the former of the Sunni Wahhabi stripe, the latter
favoring Shiite extremism).
All too often, such efforts are accompanied — and
systematically advanced — by an insidious
disinformation campaign. Its main thrust is that anyone
who dares to point out the threat posed by the
Islamists is a racist, bigot or ignoramus. Why?
Because, we are told, such observations impugn all
Muslims.
This is, of course, absurd. Law-abiding and tolerant
Muslims first and foremost understand that there are
real differences between themselves and the Islamists —
so much so that the radicals view their peaceable
co-religionists with at least as much hostility as they
do people of other faiths.
Among those most aggressively promoting the idea that
Islamists are indistinguishable from any other Muslims
are a number of Arab-American and Muslim-American
organizations long associated with jihadists and their
causes. Since 9/11, they have tried to obscure their
true colors by promoting the fiction that they are
defenders of all people of the Islamic faith, rather
than what they actually are: apologists for the
radicals among them, focused on initiatives that have
the effect of excusing, protecting or otherwise
benefitting the latter.
Fortunately, some of these organizations (notably
several founded by or associated with Abdurahman
Alamoudi - the Islamist-sympathizer indicted last month
for receiving illegal funding from Libya) have recently
come under increasing scrutiny from law enforcement and
the Congress. The American Muslim Council, the American
Muslim Foundation, the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America
and the Muslim Student Association have had officials
arrested and/or troubling questions raised on Capitol
Hill about their activities in our prisons, military
chaplain corps, mosques and colleges.
In light of the arrests and worrisome revelations, it
is all the more astounding that such groups enjoy any
credibility at all when they denounce those who warn of
Islamists hijacking and perverting the Muslim faith.
The latest example of this phenomenon has been an
attack mounted in the past week by the Islamists'
proponents on one of the Nation's most highly regarded,
experienced and decorated Special Forces officers,
Lieutenant General William "Jerry" Boykin. Gen. Boykin
recently assumed the post of Deputy Under Secretary of
Defense for Intelligence. In that capacity, he is
charged with the priority tasks of hunting down Osama
bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and their ilk.
This respected Pentagon official became the subject of
intense and mostly hostile media attention after an
inveterate leftist activist-turned columnist and TV
commentator named William Arkin circulated videotaped
and other materials. In them, the general professed his
Christian faith and reviled Muslim extremists — yes,
extremists — on both religious and strategic grounds.
Whatever one thinks of Gen. Boykin's obviously deeply
held personal beliefs, he must be credited with one
thing: He understands that Islamists have declared war
on this country and that we have no alternative but to
defeat them.
For stating this truth, the general has been roundly
criticized by the Islamists' admirers and their
friends. Notably, one of the most visible of the
professional Muslim agitators — CAIR's executive
director, Nihad Awad — has accused Gen. Boykin of
"ignorance," having "extremist views" and exhibiting
sufficiently defective judgment as to require his
reassignment.
To their credit, President Bush, National Security
Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Richard
Myers have thus far declined to accede to this sort of
pressure. While the Administration's party line remains
that the United States has no interest in waging war
against Islam, it would be a significant breakthrough
if American officials can now frankly address the
nature of our most dangerous foes: Radicals seeking to
justify their terror by masquerading as bonafide
adherents to the Islamic faith.
If we are to fight the Islamists effectively, we need
to appreciate and highlight the threat they pose not
only to non-Muslims but also to the non-jihadist Muslim
world. This will, in turn, require the sharpest
possible clarity about whether, to paraphrase President
Bush, Muslims — at home and abroad — are with us, or
with the Islamists.
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. acted as the Assistant Secretary
of Defense for International Security Policy during the
Reagan Administration, following four years of service
as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy. He was a
professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services
Committee under the chairmanship of the late Senator
John Tower, and a national security legislative aide to
the late Senator Henry M. Jackson. He currently heads
the Center for Security Policy.
© 2003, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr
Posted by permission
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