It is a central tenet of counterinsurgency, and what all of us sent to Iraq were taught: Do not insult the religion of Islam.
This isn't coming from hippies, or folks oversensitive to political correctness. Our very own military teaches every one of its soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and sailors deployed to Muslim nations that when we insult Islam, we make it harder to gain allies and friends on the ground, and give our enemies the recruiting poster that they need.
When word got around that soldiers at Bagram Air Force Base had burned Qurans, it set off a wave of violent protests, which resulted in the deaths of American troops.
When Donald Trump says that we need to end all entry into the United States, by any Muslim, he helps the enemy, and makes us less secure.
It took the Obama administration quite a while to calm the protests in Afghanistan and regain the trust of many in the region, who became convinced that the US was fighting Islam, not terrorism. It has taken our military many years of delicate trust-building to gain allies willing to help us, like the Kurds who helped me, during my time in Iraq. This trust, and these alliances, are crucial in the war on terror.
With his insane proposal, Donald Trump has positioned a wrecking ball to destroy all that work. If he is elected, that wrecking ball is unleashed, and every bit of security we fought to build comes crumbling down. Even if he is not elected, the idea that a front runner for President is proposing this doesn't help us.
This doesn't even go into how morally offensive his idea is.
Thousands of Muslims have put on the uniform, and fought, and died, for America. Muslims like Shahriar Chowdhury, who served our nation, with honor, in Iraq.
"If I had the chance, I'd ask Mr. Trump if he wouldn't have wanted me to return home after the 15 months I served in Iraq? Would he want to kick my cousin, Shaniyat, out of the Marine Corps? Would he ask my cousin Adil, an NYPD Officer to turn in his badge? How about my other first cousin, Arif, an Air Force veteran, would he tell him to leave the country after his service?" Shahriar asked.
So, would they not be allowed back, after deploying? It sounds like it.
When asked if the Trump plan was to shut out American Muslims who leave the country, and not let them back in, Trump's spokesperson, Hope Hicks said, "Mr. Trump says, 'everyone.'"
It is reminiscent of the black mark of xenophobia that gripped us during World War II.
Even as the nation put Japanese-Americans behind barbed wire, for the "crime" of being Japanese, the Fighting 442nd Regimental Combat team, which was made up of Japanese Americans, fought tooth and nail for America, earning multiple Presidential Citations, receiving nearly 10,000 Purple Hearts, and over 20 Medals of Honor.
Yet, despite all the dedication they showed, we continued to throw their families and friends into camps, in the name of "security."
Tears well up in my eyes, when I think about the dedication showed by the 442nd, just as they well up when I think of the Muslims in Arlington, whose families are confronted with Donald Trump's latest plan.
All of that said, the horrific proposal set forth by Donald Trump is a direct offshoot of the fear mongering and xenophobia that has gripped the right. It is a group that has consistently pushed the false idea of Sharia Law overtaking our Justice System. It is a group that wasted no time in sowing the seeds of paranoia as it pertained to the refugees seeking to escape the Syrian civil war. It is a group that seems most concerned about whether or not we call it "radical Islam" - with the emphasis on Islam.
And, so, rejecting Donald Trump isn't enough.
Donald Trump, and his offensive proposal are just the symptom of a larger cancer that's gripping large swaths of America. Even if Donald Trump drops out of the race, tomorrow, the fear that leads to his high poll numbers, and support for the ideas he espouses, will remain.
It is time we ask ourselves - are we strong enough to reject that fear, and do what's smart, to truly make us more secure?