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| Middle East |
| The Enemy Within |
| 2003-10-14 |
| The cards looked innocuous enough. Their heading was bland and uninformative: "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia/Royal Saudi Air Forces/Prince Sultan Air Base/ReligionDepartment/Communities Section." Then followed a listing of Web sites, including Islamtoday.com and discoverislam.com. Islamtoday.com describes itself as "a forum to call people to Allah"; Discoverislam.com offers a series of posters that "communicate the beauty of Islam, and yet are gentle enough to sway any heart, Muslim and non-Muslim alike." These wallet-size cards were given out at a Saudi "Cultural Fair," where visitors could also pick up free copies of the Koran and browse displays on Islam. But a "Cultural Fair" is one thing, and a United States Air Force Security Forces headquarters is another. According to Bill Tierney, a former military intelligence officerandUNSCOM inspector, a Muslim interpreter who worked at Air Force headquarters at Prince Sultan Air Base went to the fair, took a few hundred of the cards and put them on his desk, inviting all and sundry to take one. As the article points later, this is illegal behavior which the Air Force tolerated, we keep treating Saudi Arabia as if they were our Lords and Masters. It is, of course, bitterly ironic that all non-Muslim religious activities are severely restricted in Saudi Arabia, and that American military personnel have been forced to abide by those restrictions. But the recent allegations of espionage at Guantanamo Bay are only a hint of just how risky the military’s stance toward Saudi Arabia and Islam in general really is. Since September 11, the military has been nothing if not eager to present a welcoming face to Muslims. Eager enough to turn a blind eye to possible connections to terrorism? You bet. Even the military has been poisoned by leftist suicidal ideas. Let us hope that the hearings to be held beginning today by Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, on the prevalence of radical Muslim infiltration in our military and elsewhere will trim some of the most dangerous excesses of this sensitivity. Senator Kyl has been exemplar so far. I look forward to those hearings. |
| Posted by:Sorge |