Recently in Terrorism Category

Shephard Smith worries that anti-Obama violence is in the air, here in a clip from Fox. This won't be popular with those who feel that Obama's administration is planning on rounding them up for daring to oppose mandatory abortions. But Frank Rich argues that, just as it took McCain's best efforts to calm down the people calling the eventual US president a treacherous terrorist, the GOP's leaders must calm down the people who are signaling their intention to "put an end to the false prophet Obama." Camille Paglia, herself a critic of Obama, shares some concerns about the threats against him here.

This is my piece today for Foreign Policy mag's online version, part of a larger debate about "the Obama effect."

I've long liked Robert Gates, the sort of bipartisan, decent leader that needs to be a model for many others. Nice interview today with Fareed Zakaria, a far-too-rare moment of thoughtful analysis rather than partisan posturing.

I gave a talk last Monday at USC entitled, "Postcards from the World's Most Dangerous Place," looking at my time last summer in Pakistan, where my family built a school for underserved rural children in the Punjab. I also discussed being in the capital, Islamabad, last fall, when the Taliban blew up a hotel in town. A few days after my talk, the Taliban was reported to be taking root about 60 miles from Islamabad, where much of our family is based.

Jonathan and others have asked what I think of what's going on. As much as I love to bloviate, frequently unencumbered by facts or good taste, I think this is one of those times where it's best to say, "I don't really know." All of Pakistan's problems, including the rise of the Taliban, proceed in some way from its paranoia regarding India. But I can't say much about how dire the situation is at this time, for them or for us.

But for those who want a little more info, this is about as insightful as whatever you'll see.

I've heard many conservatives demand that Muslims be more vigorous in denouncing and fighting extremists since 9/11. I've sometimes joined them in that. One guy wrote to lament how people like me were deaf to all the denouncing that had been going on.

Now that the government is worrying about right-wing extremism on our own shores, the Economist notes that conservatives are downplaying and rationalizing their own extremists.

Conservative pundits are, understandably, ticked off. "The piece of crap report issued on April 7 is a sweeping indictment of conservatives," writes Michelle Malkin. Nobody likes being insulted by a government agency, least of all during tax week, but shouldn't conservatives be reacting to this by... distancing themselves from the extremists?

Historically, when Democrats have been able to paint Republicans as far-right radicals, the Democrats have won. Look at Bill Clinton's placing the blame for the Oklahoma City bombings on right-wing extremism, or look at Democrats in the 1960s blaming John Birchers for the climate that led to the Kennedy assassination. Republicans really can't afford to be blamed for right-wing extremism. It's foolish for the government to pin that on them, but it would be doubly foolish if they did it to themselves.

Too true. I'm sure some conservatives on this board will split hairs over the difference between conservative Muslim extremism and conservative American extremism. But I'd just love to hear one of them say, "Yeah, we should be consistent on this stuff."

The rival paper has a fascinating piece here by a Jewish writer on a topic we've addressed here, and I'd love to get reactions from my colleagues Gail-Tz and Jonathan.

I'm with Jonathan on the notion that missteps on the part of the Bush administration, while attempting to fight a war, should not be tried in court.

We are too partisan a democracy to allow such a precedent. Does anyone believe that Rush Limbaugh couldn't use such an approach to ensnare liberals in a few years, with perhaps even greater venom and skill?

Obama is setting the right tone, so far, in moving us beyond partisan expediency. Those who thirst for vengeance need to meditate on forgiveness, lest they commit "domestic war crimes" of their own.

Interesting stuff from an article here:

BARACK Obama is facing escalating death threats from white supremacists, according to senior law enforcement officers, prompting severe security restrictions in Washington DC.

The inauguration of the first black US president increases the danger, "particularly stemming from individuals on the extremist fringe of the white supremacist movement", says an intelligence assessment by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.

CNN reported that interest in racist ideology was so high right after the November 4 election that computer servers for two white supremacist websites crashed.

I've mulled this issue on and off. We've clearly made incredible gains as a society on the racial front; indeed, we as a nation have been better than other societies at working at getting better. That's why many conservatives argue passionately that it's high time for everyone to stop claiming that racism is still a problem in America.

But this article reminds us that we still have a ways to go, doesn't it? In a funny way, many Americans and many conservative Muslims overseas sound similar -- "Look, don't claim that the actions of a few nutcases taint the rest of us." Maybe, but that still means that both Americans and overseas Muslims have some work to do to take on the nutcases. A healthy society must always take responsibility for its extremes, rather than than getting defensive at a public relations level.

Gail-Tz says that Nicholas Kristof wouldn't advocate tough love against Israel if he lived there. Let me disagree.

It takes Jewish commentators such as Jon Stewart to point out the obvious:
1. American politicians are afraid of making even the slightest criticism of Israel.
2. There is far more criticism of Israeli policy among Israelis than among Americans.

Read the pages of Haaretz or all kinds of other Israeli publications, and you'll see Israelis decrying the arrogance of their government and their settlers. You'll see a balanced view of what's happening there. If the U.S. had the same political balance that Israel has, rather than the overprotectiveness that we see, the U.S. would have more political credibility than we currently have, with partners and rivals alike.

The Council on American-Islamic relations is protesting how a Muslim family was taken off a flight from Washington, DC to Orlando on New Year's Day.

I can appreciate, in principle, how CAIR is attempting to create an effective civil-liberties organization like the Anti-Defamation League. And I've defended them from critics who allege that CAIR is in cahoots with extremists.

But I wish that CAIR would, for the sake if its own Muslim constituents as well as their American homeland, spend a little less energy complaining about mistreatment and a little more energy fighting extremism within its religion. My brother and I once penned a piece in which we called for CAIR to consider spending some money assisting the victims of jihadist extremists.

I've argued since 9/11 that South Asians and Middle-Easterners should steel themselves for certain forms of "benign" racial profiling, as a necessary compromise in the greater effort to have a secure place in American society. Let's face it, if there's another 9/11, there will be widespread support for far more draconian measures than staring down Pakistanis in airports.

In the Name of God, the gripping 2007 Pakistani movie about the war between moderates and fundamentalists in Islam, depicted a pro-Western Pakistani immigrant who had been tortured unfairly; it resonated with Pakistani-Americans, many of whom have heard such stories second or third-hand. Those are the sorts of civil-liberties issues that CAIR should concern itself with. They don't need to sweat the smaller stuff.

I also don't feel that a religious person acts in good faith when he acts completely divorced from the extremists in his camp and expects not to be questioned in light of his extremists' actions.

All major religions are dominated by people who love to brag about how their one true faith is a wonderful brotherhood of believers who are the salt and light of the world. But when they come under criticism for some aspect of religious zealotry, they immediately throw their brothers under the bus, saying, "Oh, that's just a small minority that does that -- they don't represent our faith."

But you can't have it both ways. If you believe you're a brotherhood, you have to accept some responsibility for your wayward brothers' actions; you have to work to improve the situation (which includes locking up your brothers if they're a true menace) and have to accept that their bad behavior will make your life more complicated. That's real brotherhood, the kind that's not mere religious posturing. That's what the Muslim family traveling to Orlando, and CAIR, and various other people of various faiths need to remember.