Whitewashing Islamic Terrorism

Appearing on NBC's weekend talk show "Meet the Press" yesterday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch made a stunning announcement. In flatly contradictory remarks made almost in the same breath, Lynch declared that the FBI would be releasing only "a partial transcript" of Omar Mateen's calls to 911 and the Orlando Police Department's hostage negotiating team.

Responding to questioning from host Chuck Todd as to why the transcripts were being edited, Lynch said, "What we're not going to do is further proclaim this man's pledges of allegiance to terrorist groups, and further his propaganda."

She then added, "We're trying to get as much information about this investigation out as possible." Clearly, the administration is not trying to get out as much information as possible.

Here we have a blatant admission that the Obama White House is once again trying to whitewash radical Islamic terrorism. And to what end?

As we reported Friday, 48% of the country sees this as an Islamic attack, which is shockingly low given all that we already know. Yet in spite of all we know, 41% of Americans think Orlando was all about gun violence.

This ideologically-driven administration is doing everything it can to intentionally tilt public opinion toward the narrative that this had nothing to do with Islam, and specifically nothing to do with ISIS.

It is hard to imagine how we got here as a nation, but think about that for a moment. The attorney general just admitted the government is censoring information about a terrorist attack. And as we noted last week, it is also regularly lying to us about the danger we face from so-called "lone wolves."

UPDATE: News is breaking now that Justice Department has relented under withering public pressure. The department is re-issuing full, unredacted versions of Mateen's 911 calls.

DHS In Denial

Denial runs deep within the Obama Administration. The Department of Homeland Security's Advisory Council has produced a report warning government officials against the use of "religiously-charged terminology," including phrases like "jihad" and "sharia."

Attorney General Lynch evidently got an advance copy of the report and appears to be acting on its recommendations. Obama's refusal to utter the words "radical Islamic terrorism" is being codified into official policy throughout the entire federal bureaucracy.

How do we end up with absurd policies like this? There is an old adage that might explain it -- "Personnel is policy." And two members of the advisory council really stand out.
 

• Salam Al-Marayati, once suggested that Israel was behind the 9/11 attacks. "If we're going to look at suspects, we should look to the groups that benefit the most from these kinds of incidents, and I think we should put the state of Israel on the suspect list," Al-Marayati said during a radio interview just 24 hours after the attacks. In his view, the 9/11 attacks "divert attention from" Israel's "aggression and occupation and apartheid policies."
   
• And then there is Laila Alawa, a 25 year-old Syrian immigrant. Two years ago, she commented that "9/11 changed the world for good, and there's no other way to say it."

  Alawa has clearly immersed herself in the left's hatred for America. She once tweeted that people who believe America "is the best nation in the world" were "idiots." Moreover, she has a total lack of appreciation for our values, especially the First Amendment. She has regularly attacked Pamela Geller and the entire concept of "freedom of speech."

  How are these people in any position whatsoever to be advising the Department of Homeland Security?

  The Assault On Our Values

  While the Obama Administration is busy whitewashing any references to Islam and ISIS from the Orlando terror attacks, some media outlets are going above and beyond to support the left's bizarre narrative. To give you some idea of how warped the left's worldview is, just consider two recent reports from the New York Times.

  On June 15th, just three days after the Orlando attacks, the Times wrote a story strongly implying that conservative Christians were partly responsible for the atrocity carried out by a radical Islamist. The story alleged that the Apostle Paul ordered Christians to execute homosexuals and that the controversy over transgendered bathrooms in the public schools was fueling a rise in hate crimes.

  Anyone familiar with Paul's writings knows that is complete nonsense. Sadly, this is the kind of "tolerance" Christians can come to expect from the left.

  And when the Times finished bashing Christians, it offered its sympathy for Muslims. On June 18th, the left's flagship newspaper ran a story about how the Orlando shootings had robbed young New York City Muslims of the joys of Ramadan. Does anyone seriously believe the New York Times would be empathizing with Christians if an abortion clinic were attacked during Easter?

  The left's intentional ignorance about Islam is only matched by its ignorance of Christianity. Its chosen ignorance of the Koran is how the left gets away with whitewashing terrorism, while its chosen ignorance of Christianity is how it gets away with smearing that faith.

  The Violent Left

  Freedom of speech and respect for differing opinions are hallmarks of Western Civilization and American political discourse. Sadly, however, the left has little to no respect for diverse opinions and is increasingly expressing itself in violent ways. Some on the left even defend violence and rioting.

  I'm all for peaceful protest, and counter-protest, even when it's obnoxious and offensive. But violence isn't protected and can't be condoned. Read more in my latest opinion piece in USA Today.