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Tony Blankley

Tony Blankley

Posted: January 13, 2010 09:08 PM

Governing Class: Elites or Idiots?

What's Your Reaction:

Anti-anti-Islamic radicalism is growing among Western elites. In the aftermath of the Fort Hood Islamist terror attack on our troops by United States Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, and the Christmas Day airline Islamist terror attack attempt, it is becoming ever more obvious that there is a widening gap between public common sense and governing class idiocy when it comes to spotting Islamist danger in our midst - and doing something about it.

Against all evidence, it has become an idee fixe in the collective mind of European and American governments, academe, journalism and foreign policy establishments that radical Muslims in the West are the victims of Western bigotry and cultural hostility - rather than, primarily, the other way round. Dangerously, these attitudes continue to shape both the premises and procedures of government policies even after nine years of post-September 11 evidence to the contrary. The slaughtered American troops at Fort Hood are just among the early few in what will surely become whole legions of the dead victims of political correctness - if the public does not soon succeed at overruling the Western governing elite's unconscionable moral blindness to the malign danger in our midst.

This willful refusal to look Islamist/Western reality straight on is epitomized by a series of recent articles that mostly sneer at even a discussion of the threat. As one of the constantly named authors of recent books (along with Mark Steyn, Oriana Fallaci, Bernard Lewis, Bruce Bawer, Bat Ye'or and Christopher Caldwell) that are alleged to be guilty of seeing evidence of an Islamist cultural (as well as terrorist) threat to the West, I thought it might be time to respond.

Among other articles that criticize me and the other named authors are: "A Eurabian Civil War," by British Independent columnist Johann Hari; "Why Fears of a Muslim Takeover Are All Wrong" in Newsweek by William Underhill; "Eurabian Follies" in Foreign Policy magazine by former French Foreign Ministry official Justin Vaisse; and "Eurabia Debunked" in Commentary magazine online, by (the always polite and thoughtful - an exception to the rule) Max Boot.

My contribution to the oeuvre of radical Islamist alarmism was my 2005 book, The West's Last Chance, which, by the way, predicted the terrorist attack in London, Muslim riots in Paris, worldwide violent Muslim reaction to blasphemous Western artistic representations and the emergence of growing acquiescence to Shariah law in the West.

It is hard to know whether the authors (and the majority elite opinion they represent) don't get it, or don't want to get it. For example, on the question of whether Europe could become increasingly culturally dominated by Islam as the 21st century unfolds, all the articles question the demographic projections (which, in my and some other books, are official United Nations data). The authors make the triumphant case that it will be generations, if then, before Islam is a majority in Europe (which is also what I conclude in my book).

What they choose to ignore is the already obviously powerful impact of even very small numbers of determined people in a host country riddled with guilt and political correctness. The dead at Fort Hood are a testament to radical Islam's success already at inducing the U.S. Army to treat an obviously dangerous Muslim officer preferentially. His conduct - if by a Christian, Jew or atheist - surely would have been stopped well before the slaughter started.

More dangerous is the (simplistic and obvious) self-satisfied assertion that we are unduly alarmed of a danger from radical Muslims in the West because it is a "myth [that there exists] a united Islam, a bloc capable of collective and potentially dangerous action. The truth is that there are no powerful Muslim political movements in Europe, either continent-wide or at the national level, and the divisions that separate Muslims world wide, most obviously between Sunnis and Shi'ites, are apparent in Europe as well." (Newsweek, July 11, 2009, William Underhill.)

Neither I, nor to the best of my knowledge any of the other criticized authors, have asserted that a caliphate, or anything like it, was likely to reemerge. The already present danger - which will only expand if not checked - is a constant cultural intrusion that will change adversely the very nature of our way of life.

Radical Islam doesn't have to win elections (or even win street riots) if they win by intimidation the policies and conduct they seek. For example, as I warned in my book (and came about in the Danish cartoon event a few years ago), the threat of radical Muslim violence succeeded in coercing all but two American newspapers, and most European newspapers from exercising their free speech and press right to publish the Danish cartoons.

In fact just a few weeks ago, the cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard was attacked in his home by a Somali Muslim aroused by the alleged blasphemy. Shockingly, most European journalistic commentary argued that western writers and artists should, for prudence sake, abstain from such expression.

But it is worse than imprudent for Americans (or Europeans) to give up freedoms and ways of life that have been defended for centuries by the martial sacrifice of our ancestors (and current warriors) - and by the intellectual courage of our writers and artists - just because our morally feeble, self-proclaimed "educated class" and elites have lost the will to defend our civilization.

As the American people arise to take back our government and our property this November, we should also seek out candidates who are not afraid to oppose such threats to our way of life.

Tony Blankley is the author of American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century (Regnery, 2009) and vice president of the Edelman public-relations firm in Washington.

 
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Lemeritus
Been there, done that, lived to tell
07:34 PM on 01/14/2010
Mr. Blankley's piece isn't really about the spread of radical Islam. To be sure, it endorses a Field of Fears, in the sense that, if you build it, something wicked will surely this way come. But the real point is to paint people who are educated as elitists and elitists as quislings. Ironic, since Mr. Blankley is (1) certainly eduated and (2) TRULY an elite. Ironic, too, that this lecture on giving up "freedoms and ways of life that have been defended for centuries by the martial sacrifice of our ancestors" comes to us from one who we can only presume thinks the Patriot Act was a pretty good idea.
Chauncey1186
Yeah, I'm a soshulist - so what?
07:46 PM on 01/14/2010
Well-said!
07:16 PM on 01/14/2010
unless it's not approved
07:15 PM on 01/14/2010
hoo
07:15 PM on 01/14/2010
boo
06:02 PM on 01/14/2010
can someone explain to me why liberals..ooops, sorry... progressives are so eager to extend OUR constitutional rights to terrorists, who are not American citizens, did not commit crimes on American soil and are involved in a war AGAINST our country?
Chauncey1186
Yeah, I'm a soshulist - so what?
06:44 PM on 01/14/2010
So the words "ALL men are created equal" mean nothing to you, right?
07:10 PM on 01/14/2010
which part of the following is unambiguous:

The United States Constitution

is it the South African constituion? the european constitution?

but beyond that. I'll grant men/women constitutional protections. the subhuman refuse that attack us don't deserve treatment the humane society would bestow on a mutt
07:12 PM on 01/14/2010
so what benefit do you receive from extending our countries rights to non citizens. what benefit do I receive by extending my constitutional protections to people who don't abide the most minimal standards of decency and civility?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Lemeritus
Been there, done that, lived to tell
07:04 PM on 01/14/2010
Because, realbalance, we have the best damned system ever devised, It's the left's way of chanting "USA! USA!"
07:13 PM on 01/14/2010
then they wonder how it all went wrong after strapping a target on their heads, loading the gun, handing it to their assailant, cocking the trigger and standing still so that they can take careful aim
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
YankeeCanuck
dog
04:51 PM on 01/14/2010
Here is a first step toward what needs to be done. Canadian imams have issued a fatwa condemning terrorist attacks. Here it is, reported in Canada's conservative newspaper:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2422443
It is a courageous act, since some of the imams fear reprisal from their more radical co-religionists.
06:04 PM on 01/14/2010
i agree. it is a courageous act. they are patriots to their cause. and ours
02:48 AM on 01/15/2010
Good statement On previous activities of Syed Soharwardy, the imam of Calgary Mosque:
According to Calgary Herald, Mr. Soharwardy went to Calgary police and asked them to arrest and imprison the publisher of Western Standard magazine for re- printing the infamous Danish cartoons. LOL...
Quote from Mr. Soharwardy complaint:"
Statement: These cartoons have sighted... discrimination against my family and me. We feel that our human right were violated."
http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2006/03/western_standar.html

Calgary Herald March 16th.
“During the years when my colleagues and I were labouring to create such commissions, we never imagined that they might ultimately be used against freedom of speech,”
Borovoy, general counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association

sigh... there goes another neighborhood.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
YankeeCanuck
dog
02:08 PM on 01/15/2010
So one imam, not necessarily associated with the group got his turban in a twist, as they say, over the Danish cartoon.
Oleg, you're reaching. You may hate the idea of good faith and brotherhood, but others will work towards it.
Canadian law is different concerning freedom of speech. And it is far from perfect.
Canwest Media is presently suing a couple of artists for a parody of one of their papers that criticised Israel. They are trying to bankrupt them, despite the media network itself (which includes the Calgary Herald) being in receivership. That's the kind of grudge match they have going with the truth.
And so do you.
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ImmanuelGoldstein
Founder of the "Brotherhood"
03:56 PM on 01/14/2010
Grabbing a gun and blasting away at random as a response to your problems is as American as apple pie.
Eventually someone who is a muslim would take up that sport.
02:25 AM on 01/15/2010
EVENTUALLY?!
You man haven't been doing it for the last 1400 years.... look up some history books,pal..
03:23 PM on 01/14/2010
"The already present danger - which will only expand if not checked - is a constant cultural intrusion that will change adversely the very nature of our way of life."

It was boneheaded moves like invading Iraq and Afghanistan that has led to the increase in anti-American Islamist extremism. It is like being stung by a bee, and then thinking it is a good idea to go give the hive a good swift kick in retaliation. It only makes the bee problem worse. These are the moves that are adversly affecting our lives.

If by "checking" the danger you mean invading every country that might harbor terrorists, you are obviously insane. You have played right into the terrorists hands, and have become their greatest recruiting tool. Be vewy afwaid!!!
03:59 PM on 01/14/2010
". It is like being stung by a bee, and then thinking it is a good idea to go give the hive a good swift kick in retaliation."
Obviously, your choice would be to run away and hope the bees don't follow, eh liberaldovveit.
06:06 PM on 01/14/2010
he would try to console the bee and explain that he can make a different choice
06:06 PM on 01/14/2010
first. what's up with the term 'invaded'.? did we 'invade' Germany in WWII?

second. where do you figure we should have gone? France?

or are you one of those 'terrorism isn't a threat' types. or the obama school of foreign policy 'if we're nicer to them they won't hurt us'?
03:04 PM on 01/14/2010
The Nazis of the 1930s claimed their Aryan way of life was being threatened too. Okay, fanatics of every stripe must be dealt with but that doesn't mean we have to demean whole ethnic or religious groups of people. I fear the fanatics, but that includes right wing fear mongers.
03:56 PM on 01/14/2010
Do you fear liberal fanatics that support the fundamentalist terrorists because of blind adherence to the multi-cultural dogma?
No,... oh, wait, the fanatics are the OTHER, never me... so thinks every fanatic...
11:28 PM on 01/14/2010
Oleg, the term "liberal fanatics" is an oxymoron. Your premise that liberals support terrorists is both silly and false. They may, as Blankley claims, be stupid in their political correctness (not that I agree) but they don't commit terrorist acts and, though they may engage in soul searching regarding the west's history of imperialism, they do not condone fanatical extremism.
jhNY
Mercy.
02:26 PM on 01/14/2010
Is Mr. Blankley a citizen of the United States? Oridinarily, I wouldn't ask, but all this impatient and strident rhetoric on behalf of endless war by the US on abstraction and the world's most populous religion makes me wonder. And does he have children? If so, are they of age to serve? If so, are they in uniform? Read his bio on HuffPo, but none of these questions are answered there.
02:57 PM on 01/14/2010
Yes he is.
Listen to Front-Right- and- Center on NPR: a very good program.
09:43 PM on 01/14/2010
I think you mean "LEFT, Right and Center."
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
wernerholm
bio doesnt ever meet guidelines
02:16 PM on 01/14/2010
Here we go again stoking the fires of war.... Let's do a quick numbers check....

Average number of Americans killed by Car Accidents per day...... 115.68

Average number of Americans killed by Terrorist Attacks per day.. 000.17

In order for the number of Americans dieing in terror attacks to approach the number killed in cars 9/11/01 would have to happen three times a month... every month! http://www.suburbanempire.com/content/american-scarelines With Cars murdering 115 people a day it is a wonder Glenn Beck isn't shrieking about how we need to invade Detroit to stop the carnage.
02:31 PM on 01/14/2010
In possible alternative universe does this arithmetic makes any sense?
Why don't we apply the same crude logic to Pearl Harbor, Tienanmen Square and Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956.
02:33 PM on 01/14/2010
how many Americans would you estimate would die in event of a bio/nuclear attack in a major city? what would be the economic impact?

what would your averages show then?

we have an enemy who has expressed exactly that desire. so you a) don't believe them or b) don't care?
HUFFPOST PUNDIT
realpolitic
GOP is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing!
04:15 PM on 01/14/2010
What about the right wing terrorism like the guy who shot up the Holocaust museum or the one who killed the abortion doctor at church? Are you concerned with that? Likely not!
01:50 PM on 01/14/2010
By this logic we should be locking up every white male from every town of under 10,000 who graduated in the lower half of his high school class, claims to be a Christian but can't tell you what the Bible says because he can't read it owns a deer rifle and drinks cheap beer. They are a threat to the American culture I was raised with and have demonstrated a hatred of American law coupled with a proven intent to attack the citizens and Government of the US on US soil. Remember Oklahoma City. They are still out there.
01:40 PM on 01/14/2010
Nothing but fear mongering.
02:58 PM on 01/14/2010
Accusation fo fear-mongering from people who have been prophesying U.S. invasion of Iran for the last ten years ...lol.
Chauncey1186
Yeah, I'm a soshulist - so what?
06:50 PM on 01/14/2010
What????
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HUFFPOST PUNDIT
ProfessorDuh
01:34 PM on 01/14/2010
Let's see now. The U.S. intelligence community gets some $50 billion annually that we know of, and employs several hundred thousand people. And it's outwitted and outmaneuvered by Al Qaeda, an organization that the U.S. intelligence community itself claims now consists of only about 120 people. Just how incompetent are these "intelligence" people, anyway?
Or is it simply that as long as it pays them trillions and the political power, the American military-industrial complex has an infinite capacity for failure, and the Republican Party has an infinite capacity for fear-mongering?
01:58 PM on 01/14/2010
"an organization that the U.S. intelligence community itself claims now consists of only about 120 people."
Can you source a member of the U.S. intelligence community who said this?
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HUFFPOST PUNDIT
ProfessorDuh
04:03 PM on 01/14/2010
A senior U.S. intelligence official told ABCNews.com the approximate estimate of 100 al Qaeda members left in Afghanistan reflects the conclusion of American intelligence agencies and the Defense Department. The relatively small number was part of the intelligence passed on to the White House as President Obama conducted his deliberations.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/president-obamas-secret-100-al-qaeda-now-afghanistan/story?id=9227861
12:34 PM on 01/14/2010
Institution for the Secularization of Islamic Society

The St. Petersburg Declaration

Quotes; See below the link to the full text.

" We,e secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle.... between the free and the unfree.
We see no colonialism, racism, or so-called "Islamaphobia" in submitting Islamic practices to criticism or condemnation when they violate human reason...

We call on the governments of the world to:

* reject Sharia law, fatwa courts, clerical rule, state-sanctioned religion...
* eliminate practices, such as female circumcision, honor killing, forced veiling, and forced marriage,
* protect sexual and gender minorities from persecution and violence;
* reform sectarian education that teaches intolerance and bigotry towards non-Muslims...

We enjoin...thinkers everywhere to embark on a fearless examination of the origins and sources of Islam, to promulgate the ideals of free scientific and spiritual inquiry...

We say to Muslim believers: there is a noble future for Islam as a personal faith, not a political doctrine;

...and to nonbelievers: we defend your unqualified liberty to question and dissent.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Magdi Allam
Mithal Al-Alusi
Shaker Al-Nabulsi
Nonie Darwish
Afshin Ellian
Tawfik Hamid
Shahriar Kabir
Hasan Mahmud
Wafa Sultan
Amir Taheri
Ibn Warraq
Manda Zand Ervin
Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/isis

Courageous statement of freedom from Muslim free-thinkers, why are Western liberals afraid to follow suit?!!
02:40 PM on 01/14/2010
bingo