Over the past couple of weeks, the FBI has arrested two
individuals who were attempting to carry out separate terrorist
attacks in the name of Islamic jihad on U.S. soil.
First there was the arrest of Mohamed Osman Mohamud in
Portland, Oregon on November 26. Mohamud attempted to detonate a
car bomb during the lighting of a Christmas tree in downtown
Portland. If Mohamud had succeeded it would have resulted in the
loss of hundreds, if not thousands, of lives. But the detonator was
a fake. It was supplied to Mohamud by the very undercover FBI
agents who arrested him.
Then there was the
arrest of Muhammad Hussain (formerly known
as Antonio Martinez) on December 8 as he attempted to detonate a
bomb at a U.S. military recruitment center in Catonsville,
Maryland, just west of Baltimore. But his detonator was also a fake
and had been supplied to him by undercover FBI agents.
Liberals have long preferred that the question of
terrorism be addressed by law enforcement rather than the military.
So you would think liberals would be pleased with the arrests of
Mohamud and Hussain. Yet this is not the case.
Consider what Glenn Greenwald
wrote on Salon.comwith regard to
Mohamud’s arrest. While Greenwald acknowledged it was possible the
FBI had legitimately arrested a man intent on committing murder and
mayhem, he also believes the FBI could have “created a plot
it then persuaded/manipulated/entrapped him to join, essentially
turning him into a Terrorist; and then patted itself on the back
once it arrested him for having thwarted a ‘Terrorist plot’ which,
from start to finish, was entirely the FBI’s own concoction.
(2)
So, in the world according to Glenn Greenwald, the FBI is
creating terrorists.
Geraldo Rivera agrees. During a recent appearance on
The O’Reilly Factor, Rivera
called Hussain’s arrest “bogus, absolutely
bogus,” claimed Hussain had been “seduced” by the FBI into bombing
the military recruitment center, and said these “are not real
crimes.”
But what if Muhamud had successfully detonated that car
bomb in downtown Portland? And what if Martinez had successfully
blown up that military recruitment center near Baltimore? What if
thousands of lives had been lost as a result? And what if it had
been learned that the FBI had been investigating both Muhamud and
Hussain and had not intervened? Greenwald and Rivera would be the
first to accuse the FBI of dereliction of duty.
Yet Greenwald’s “concoction” claim and Rivera’s
“seduction” argument beg the following question. If undercover
operations are beyond the pale, then what tactics should the FBI
use to combat terrorism? Do Greenwald and Rivera have better
alternatives? What are their solutions? But don’t expect them to be
forthcoming with any alternatives or solutions.
Unfortunately, what has become apparent is that many
liberals view Muslim terrorists as yet another class of victims,
another class of oppressed peoples. If not for the big, bad FBI,
Mohammed Osman Muhamud and Muhammad Hussain would probably be
standing on top of a hill holding a Coke bottle and chanting,
“I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.”
These sentiments, of course, are not new amongst liberals.
We saw them manifest after the fallout of the Abu Ghraib scandal
and with detainees at Guantanamo Bay. But now that these
terrorist plots are being planned on U.S. soil on a far more
regular basis these sentiments are far more troubling. They are
troubling because it is an indication a significant segment of our
population is still in denial about the nature of terrorism
inspired by Islamic fundamentalism. Notwithstanding the cataclysmic
events of September 11, 2001, there exists a belief amongst many
liberals that these acts don’t happen here or that if they do
happen here there is no link to Islamic
fundamentalism.
So when confronted with attempted terrorist attacks in
Portland or suburban Baltimore it is easier for many liberals to
cast aspersions against the FBI than to acknowledge there are
people living among us who would do them and their families
grievous harm. It is more comforting for liberals to think the FBI
is wantonly entrapping people than to think that someone might
actually be trying to detonate an explosive in a public square, a
military recruitment center, or perhaps even the train you take
back and forth to work. Many liberals would rather believe the FBI
can turn law abiding citizens into cold blooded killers than to
believe some of our Muslim neighbors are prepared to commit mass
murder.
It is a case of pity the poor terrorist. Heaven help
us.
