Making a mockery of motives

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2016/06/29/making-a-mockery-of-motives/

Earlier this month, White House spokesman Josh Earnest described the threat of radical Islamic terrorism to the U.S. as nothing more than “a Republican talking point.”

The statement, made to CNN (one of the administration’s favorite safe spaces), seems odd considering that  CIA Director John Brennan recently testified that radical Islamic terrorism presents a very clear danger to the United States.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch seems to agree with Earnest. After meeting with investigators and prosecutors, she stated that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen’s motive has yet to be established and, in fact, may never be known.

Apparently, the nation’s top law enforcement officer doesn’t deem the clear, repeated, voluntary admissions  by the perpetrator as sufficient to establish his motive.  When a gunman pledges fealty to an Islamist terrorist organization and its leader before killing 49 innocent Americans, one would think it’s a safe bet to call it an act of terrorism.

Perhaps it bears repeating. Mateen proudly announced: “I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, may Allah protect him, on behalf of the Islamic State,” before committing his atrocity. And this came after ISIS had called on its followers to murder American civilians during Ramadan.

In a move that was absurd, but unsurprising, the Obama Administration released transcripts that removed references to ISIS, Islam, or even the term “Allah.” The administration then clumsily reversed itself and un-redacted the documents. But its message was clear: we don’t accept the nexus between the slaughter of these innocents and radical Islam.

So, what of the recent news out of Indiana?  In Indianapolis,  an 18-year-old U.S. citizen, Akram Musleh, was arrested by the FBI as he attempted to board a bus for New York City. According to authorities, Musleh intended to head to Morocco in order to join ISIS.

According the FBI, Musleh had a YouTube page that included videos of the late Anwar al-Awlaki, the famous Imam who radicalized the Fort Hood shooter and others. He is also depicted standing with the black flag of ISIS. The government also claims that Musleh tried to buy a pressure cooker like the ones used in the Boston Marathon bombing (one wonders how he failed to buy them). Lastly, the FBI claims that Musleh was talking to someone online about joining ISIS.

Seems pretty damning, right? Well, given the Orwellian contortions of the Obama Administration after every attack by radical Islamic terrorists at home and abroad, it’s hard to understand what Musleh did wrong. After all, if the Attorney General herself doesn’t see a clear connection between Omar Mateen’s statements before committing an actual terrorist attack, why is her Justice Department charging Akram Musleh with trying to become what Josh Earnest sees as a mere “Republican talking point?”

How does the federal government, on the one hand, say that a man who killed 49 in the name of ISIS wasn’t motivated by ISIS, and then turn around and say that a man who watched radical videos, tried to buy a pressure cooker, and planned to fly to the Middle East was motivated by ISIS?  They can’t have it both ways.

This relentless obfuscation is an affront to the intelligence of the American people. And yet the Administration cannot seem to contemplate how a blunt man like Donald Trump has gained traction with a large segment of the electorate.




Anthony Amore

Anthony Amore

Anthony Amore is an expert in security matters and is formerly an Assistant Federal Security Director with the Transportation Security Administration in Boston. Read his past columns here.