A male in his twenties, educated, and smart enough to say the “right things” to avoid suspicion. A pilot, he was also an ideologue with a decidedly anti-Western bent. He was also Saudi Arabian.
Sounds like the 9/11 terrorists, fifteen of whom were Saudis, and all having a similar profile. But it’s not. Instead, this description refers to yet another terrorist who attacked America: Saudi Royal Air Force Second Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani.
The similarities don’t end there. Alshamrani, like the hijackers, was already inside America, and, like his predecessors, raised red flags that should have been detected, but weren’t. And now, just like post-9/11, many American officials, in deference to political correctness, are kowtowing to the enemy in front of them.
It’s time to jettison the nuanced language and deal with the problem. Because if we don’t, the attacks will continue while our leaders scratch their heads and blame everyone but themselves.
The latest attack occurred when Alshamrani, in America for military flight training, killed three navy personnel at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.
Much was missed leading up to the attack, but we aren’t focusing on the real reasons why it happened, nor how to prevent similar attacks.
First, it is inexcusable that the FBI and U.S. Attorney took days to label the shooting a possible act of terror. Even now it’s not definitive, as we’re told investigators are operating “under the assumption” it was terrorism. Defense Secretary Mark Esper recently stated, “No, I can’t say it’s terrorism at this time.”
Really?
Let’s reverse the question. If not terrorism, then what? It wasn’t a street crime, nor a deranged high school student seeking to exit in a blaze of glory, nor was it a drunken tirade. And it wasn’t an accident, since the Lieutenant’s actions were premeditated.
That leaves one option: terrorism.
Are we ignoring the elephant in the room to not “offend” Saudis in particular, or Muslims in general? Seems like it.
Alshamrani wasn’t an American, and therefore wasn’t entitled to the same protections as U.S. citizens.
Today’s world dictates that people meeting certain criteria be given extra scrutiny, and Muslim foreign nationals, even from “friendly” nations, should be at the top of that list. Let’s not forget that all nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Muslim. As were the Boston Bombers, Fort Dix Six, and the Fort Hood, Chattanooga military base, San Bernardino and Orlando nightclub shooters. Ditto for the Times Square bomber, shoe bomber, underwear bomber, and the Garland, Texas shooter. And the list goes on.
Islamic terrorists bombed the London tube, trains in Madrid, and shot up the Charlie Hebdo office in France. They perpetrated massacres in Paris, Nice, and Manchester, and conducted many other attacks, including recent killings in London.
No ethnicity, nationality, or religion should be off the table to profiling, but it is dangerous to deliberately look the other way in scrutinizing those fitting “red flag” profiles. Unequivocally, security procedures cannot be based on avoiding hurt feelings. But we’ll never solve the problem if we’re too PC to even state what the real problem is.
And how ironic that the reaction is somewhat subdued because the shooter was Muslim. What would have been the reaction had the perpetrator been a southern white man? There’d be calls for gun bans, and the blame game would be in high gear — Donald Trump’s fault, naturally, just as the Left held him “responsible” for the Texas and Ohio shootings. Editorials stating that gun violence is the result of the “white male toxic gun culture” would be shoved down our throats, and Democratic pols would continue their push to ban the Confederate flag — right in line with their claim that the Charleston church shooter represented Southerners, and Southern heritage, because he associated himself with the Stars and Bars.
Yet when the shooter is a Muslim from an allied country, we are lectured not to jump to conclusions — that somehow it might not be terrorism — and scolded that any generalizations about Muslims are racist. Such double standards are sickening.
Some of this author’s good friends are Muslim foreign nationals, but that doesn’t change the fact that protecting America’s interests comes first. It has nothing to with bigotry, and everything to do with common sense.
Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, Freindly Fire Zone Media. Read more reports from Chris Freind — Click Here Now.