Dem leaders try to hand Islamists a victory
The next few hours will likely see the fate sealed of legislation designed to protect alert, public-spirited Americans from harassment and potentially devastatingly expensive lawsuits arising from their warnings to law-enforcement authorities concerning possible terrorist activities. If Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and their chambers’ respective Judiciary Committee chairmen, Sen. Patrick Leahy and Rep. John Conyers, have their way, that fate will amount to the elimination of such legislation – and a victory for terrorists and their fellow-travelers at the expense of our people and their homeland’s security.
This is hardly an abstraction. This legislation originally sponsored by Reps. Peter King, the ranking minority member of the House Homeland Security Committee, was prompted after six Muslim imams conducted themselves in a provocative and possibly threatening manner last November in connection with a USAir flight originating in Minneapolis. At the time, several individuals did their duty by reporting the activity to law authorities – something we all are routinely urged to do in the event we observe suspicious behavior.
[More]Following the imams’ removal from the flight for questioning, however, these as-yet unidentified individuals were named in a lawsuit brought by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Now, CAIR is an organization that has been designated as a front organization of the Islamofascist Muslim Brotherhood and an un-indicted co-conspirator in a terrorist-financing conspiracy. Given the character of this organization, the transparent purpose of this initiative by this particular group was to discourage Americans from responding as the so-called "John Does" did. The effect, whether intended or not, would be to leave the country more vulnerable to attack by those who exploit our civil liberties, political correctness and proclivity not to get involved.
11th Hour Drama
The issue has been joined in as-yet incomplete conference committee on what has been dubbed "the 9/11 bill" – priority legislation for the Democrats who control Congress. Unfortunately, despite the strong support of Rep. King and Senators Joe Lieberman and Collins (the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee), there is a real danger that two factors may combine to expose American patriots to future litigation by the likes of CAIR:
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First, objections by Messrs. Leahy and Conyers, who are asserting jurisdiction as a means of blocking a bill that would be very unlikely to get reported out of either of their committees. And,
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Second, the Democratic leadership’s evident desire to deep-six such legislation out of public view. A relatively opaque conference committee process lends itself well to this sort of black-bag job.
Congressional sources report that the intent is to finish the 9/11 bill’s conference later today. All other things being equal, it will presumably be with extreme prejudice to the King amendment.
The Bottom Line
Now is the time for all Americans to have their voices heard in opposition to the Democrats’ bid to eliminate the King amendment. By registering our objections now, it may yet be possible to ensure that citizenship’s responsibility to help with the common defense continues to be encouraged, not penalized.
Mr. Gaffney is the host of Secure Freedom Radio, a nationally-syndicated radio program heard weeknights throughout the country. He is an associate author of highly acclaimed Shariah: The Threat to America and the publisher of over a dozen other books and monographs from the Center for Security Policy Press.
In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, the senior position in the Defense Department with responsibility for policies involving U.S.-USSR relations, nuclear forces, arms control, missile defense policy and U.S.-European defense ties. He acted in that capacity for seven months during which time, he was the Chairman of the prestigious High Level Group, NATO’s senior politico-military committee. He also represented the Secretary of Defense in key U.S.-Soviet negotiations and ministerial meetings.
From August 1983 until November 1987, Mr. Gaffney was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy under Assistant Secretary Richard Perle.
From February 1981 to August 1983, Mr. Gaffney was a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by the late Senator John Tower (R-Texas). And, in the latter 1970’s, Mr. Gaffney served as an aide to the late Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D-Washington) in the areas of defense and foreign policy.
Mr. Gaffney holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Mr. Gaffney’s leadership has been recognized by numerous organizations including: the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award (1987), the U.S. Business and Industry Council’s Defender of the National Interest Award (1994), the Navy League of the United States’ Alfred Thayer Mahan Literary Achievement Award (1999), and the Zionist Organization of America’s “Louis Brandeis Award” (2003), the Western Conservative Summit’s Stephen H. Long Award (2015), the Council for National Policy’s George Washington Military Leadership Award (2016) and the IMPACT Award from Ginni Thomas and United in Purpose (2017).
Mr. Gaffney was born in 1953 and resides in the Washington, D.C. area.
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