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Islamic Problems Continue in US

The latest incident in the US with terrorist implications is the arrest of a Saudi at Detroit Airport with a pressure cooker in his bag. He claimed he brought it to give to his nephew because the US doesn’t have any! No charge has yet been made of threatened terrorist activity. 

US media report more developments arising out of the inquiry into the Benghazi bombings, which are now widely described as involving “shifting” explanations and as revealing contradictory stories by officials and ministers. At a news conference, however, Obama described these as “a sideshow” and accused Republicans of playing “political games”. A commentator in the mainstream National Journal responded by suggesting “he and his advisers face a credibility crisis”.

Other US media reactions/comments of interest include:

• Obama rejected the sending of military help to the consulate because his electoral base included anti-war voters. His “message” is that he is succeeding in getting out of military action in M East;
• Obama did not attend a single intelligence briefing in the week before the consulate attack, he “disappeared” on the evening of the attack and the next day he flew to a fund raiser in Las Vegas while the ambassador’s body was being dragged through the streets by al Qaeda linked terrorists;
• The attempt by the New York Times to characterise the Boston bombers and earlier “activists” as “self-radicalisers” overlooks the contacts of various kinds they all had with imams ie there is a war against terrorism in the US;
• None of the twelve different versions of the CIA talking points, all of which were obtained by ABC (US), made any mention of the movie that was quoted by Obama, Clinton and Rice as instigating the “protest” outside the consulate;
• A Congressional Democrat is reported as stating it was clear a terrorist attack was occurring, including by the fact that the consulate’s Libyan guards “disappeared the minute these people came down the street”. She described the Administration as “cautious”.

Australian media have also reported on some of these developments, with The Australian headlining a repeat from The Times with “Hillary Clinton hit by Benghazi fallout” and reporting Republican John McCain as demanding answers and describing Rice and Carney (chief White House spokesman) as conducting cover ups. The article also says New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd (normally a sympathetic Democrat) was scathing about the behaviour of Mrs Clinton and Barack Obama. 

Also, The Age quotes Attorney General Dreyfus as stating ''In light of the recent terror attack in Boston, it is clear that it is as important now as it ever was to maintain strong capabilities in the fight against terrorism. Our counter-terrorism framework has held us in good stead so far, but we must remain vigilant.'' This statement, which was made in the context of a report that a review of counter-terrorism laws suggests “the definition of a terrorist act should be tightened and ASIO's powers reduced to maintain civil liberties”, conveys a different picture to recent ones portrayed by Dreyfus. It is to be hoped that he does not attempt to implement the review’s recommendations.

Finally, it is worth reporting an international survey conducted in 11 countries for conservative German newspaper Die Welt and published on 12 May. In response to the statement “Islam is not compatible with the Western world”, over 50 per cent agreed in all countries except Turkey (although even 25 per cent agreed there).

Des Moore
14 May 2013

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