Homeland Security Hearings On Muslim Extremism Are Needed

[Mr VJP]

Editorial Exegesis   

Maybe there's a reason for being aware of radical Islam

    "Rep. Peter King, New York Republican and chairman of  the House Committee on Homeland Security, will hold hearings this week  on Muslim extremism in the United States. The Obama administration and  other pro-Islamic activists argue that because the vast majority of  American Muslims aren't violent extremists, Congress has no business  examining the growing numbers who are. This redirection is tantamount to  saying that because most people are law-abiding, the police should  ignore the study of criminal psychology. Mr. King's planned hearings  will shine a bright light on a challenge the Obama administration has  studiously ignored, with fatal results. Overlooking the motives of  Muslim terrorists has become an O Force obsession. ... The Obama  administration persistently has stricken the concept of Islamic  extremism -- whether foreign or domestic -- from U.S. public policy. In  2009, the Department of Homeland Security drafted a Domestic Extremist  Lexicon that listed Jewish extremism as a threat and described various  strands of purportedly dangerous Christian extremism but made no mention  of any form of Muslim extremism. This document was pulled along with  other questionable Homeland Security publications once their contents  became public. The February 2010 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review  discussed terrorism and violent extremism but didn't refer to radical  Islam in any context. Likewise, the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review  avoids any terminology related to Islam. Mr. King's hearings are a  useful step toward opening up the debate on the pressing problem of  domestic Islamic extremism. Mr. Obama's inexplicable tendency to turn  aside from the question has harmed the ability of the United States to  deal with this threat." --The Washington Times