From Ivan Eland at antiwar.com:
In America, the public, some politicians, and even President Obama have a vague awareness that U.S. government policies affect the recruitment of terrorists by radical groups. However, going too far with such self-awareness leads to excessively unsettling conclusions that would demand radical changes in U.S. foreign policy. Thus, as a nation, we generally avoid going down that road at all costs. It is to our peril.
Some politicians, both Democratic and Republican, had criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s advocacy of preventing Muslims from entering the United States, which had the odor of fascism. Now that a news clip of Trump’s proposal has been used as a recruiting video for the radical Islamist group al-Shabab in Somalia, he is getting further criticism on the campaign trail. Not only does Trump’s proposal probably violate the Constitution’s First Amendment protection of freedom of religion and at least the spirit of the 14th Amendment’s stipulation of equal protection for all under the law – it is bad policy. The reason that the United States has had fewer problems than Europe does with radicalized Islamists within its borders is that American Muslims are prosperous and more integrated into their host society than in Europe. As a result, the overwhelmingly peaceful American Muslim population is U.S. law enforcement’s greatest source of intelligence on any radical activities by a tiny minority. Trump’s proposal singling out Muslims for discrimination, even if never enacted, is likely to begin undermining that integration by breeding Muslim fears that even more draconian measures could be taken in the future.
So if at least some American politicians and a significant portion of the public can see that Trump’s proposal, which affects only Muslims trying to visit or do business in the United States, can be used to recruit terrorists, why can’t they see that the U.S. government’s post-9/11 attacks on or invasions of at least seven Muslim countries – Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq – are far worse than Trump’s proposal in generating anti-U.S. blowback terrorism?
To continue reading: Not Just Trump Is a Recuiter of Terrorists
