September 12, 2014—ISIS is not Islamic?

Amb. Henry F. Cooper, Chairman Lt. Gen. Daniel Graham, Founder

High Frontier . . Building Truly Effective Defenses . . . Reagan’s Vision Lives!

E-Mail Message 140912

ISIS is not Islamic?

By Ambassador Henry F. Cooper

September 12, 2014

“President Obama’s promise “to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL” may or may not end up causing problems for the Islamic State. Surely however, it further degraded our security by further engaging us in the combination of fantasy and half measures that has earned America a reputation for un-seriousness and opened hunting season on Americans everywhere.” ~Angelo Codevilla

Yesterday, we remembered those who died 13 years ago because 19 jihadis from Saudi Arabia armed with box cutters killed nearly 3000 Americans by hijacking 4 aircraft and crashing them into the World Trade Center’s two towers and the Pentagon—and except for the heroic passengers who died by crashing United 93 in Pennsylvania many more might have died in its intended target of either the White House or Capitol.

On its eve, President Obama announced his new “strategy” (I speak loosely.) to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS = ISIL = Islamic State = Islamic Caliphate). Among the clarifications for his “new” strategy, he astonishingly declared the self-proclaimed Islamic State was “not Islamic.” Huh?????

Try telling that to ISIS leaders and members—including American and European citizens, as they continue its announced efforts to hold, if not further expand, its declared Caliphate in Iraq and Syria (larger than many member states of the United Nations). ISIS is well-armed (including with U.S.-supplied weaponry from the Iraqi soldiers who turned tail and ran from the so-called “Junior Varsity” ISIS initial attacks that quickly overcame the limited Iraqi and Syrian resistance) and self-sustained by marketing its own oil and blackmailing other Islamic nations in the Middle East, some of which are alleged to be our allies.

These resistance forces are now the folks who somehow are going to be the “boots on the ground” that our “air strikes only” strategy is supposed to enable to “degrade and defeat” ISIS, presumably trained by our 1500 or so troops in the region—“in slippers rather than boots” as some have observed?

But I digress. Back to the President’s claim that we don’t have an Islamic problem—you know, associated with that well known “religion of peace,” as President George W. Bush called it thirteen years ago. Lest you think mine is just another anti-Obama rant.

On this thirteenth anniversary, have we forgotten the videos of mobs throughout the Middle East and around the world who cheered the news of those 9/11 attacks? Were they not Islamic?

Then, do we think those who killed our Ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi two 9/11s ago were not Islamic? Presumably, they were not ISIS—though they certainly shared the same view of the “Great Satan” America. And is the “top dog” Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini who openly has declared his goal to destroy the Great Satan not Islamic?

Oh, I forgot, we are counting on his support in blocking ISIS = ISIL = Islamic State in its version of the Caliphate. Wrong sect you see, although both ISIS and Iran hate and want to destroy us (and also the Little Satan Israel, of course).

Recall that Saudi King Abdullah’s warned of what would happen if we don’t take care of ISIS: “If neglected, I am certain that after a month they will reach Europe and, after another month, America.” His regime has also funded ISIS—not to mention the Wahhabi network of schools, including in the America, spreading the same poison that fuels ISIS. (Click here for a PBS summary.) Islamic, you think?

This line of theological/ideological thinking gave us Osama bin Laden . . . recall him? Another Saudi, right? Along with the 19 who followed him to attack us 13 years ago.

Another famous quotation from President Obama—“Bin Laden is dead and al Qaeda is on the run.” Right—al Qaeda morphed into the more vicious ISIS, among other factions—but al Qaeda allegedly broke with ISIS because ISIS is too ruthless. Reports this morning indicate ISIS numbers are growing by leaps and bounds, including Europeans and Americans who can easily travel to the United States. That makes me feel better, right? Islamic, you think?

And among others nation states supporting the genesis of ISIS has been our erstwhile NATO partner Turkey—led by Islamic true believer President Recep Tayyep Erdogan who several years ago purged the Turkish Military leadership that had kept the ISIS kind of extremism in the background in Turkey—they were the guardians for preserving Ataturk’s efforts to turn Turkey toward a secular democratic society rather than one rooted in what of is often referred to as Islamic “fundamentalism” or “extremism.” (Click here for The Economist’s latest brief assessment of this trajectory away from Ataturk’s vision.) But not Islamic . . . Really?

And this kind of willful blindness by many of our elected leaders led to charging American citizen and Army Major Nidal Hasan with politically correct “workplace violence” for killing 13 fellow soldiers and wounding 29 others at Ft. Hood, while crying out “Allahu Akbar.” Sure seemed like an Islamic battle cry to me.

And Hasan was schooled in the faith in a Northern Virginia mosque by another American citizen, Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, around the same time he was advising senior U.S. policy makers and leaders in the Pentagon following 9/11. You remember al-Awlaki, right? President Obama approved his “drone” assassination as the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), from which “warriors” are reportedly now are supporting ISIS, perhaps in mutual competition to see who as more of a true believer first attacks America. (For example, click here.) But nothing Islamic here, right????

I could go on, like discussing threats that might evolve from nuclear-armed Pakistan which shielded Osama bin Laden for nearly a decade before our SEALs killed him, but I hope these examples are sufficient to make my point that the President’s claim is astonishingly naïve at best and completely unworthy of a U.S. Commander-in-Chief in laying out a strategy to “degrade and destroy” our enemies. And I have a problem believing he is that naïve.

Wake up America! There has to be a connection between these dots! We cannot prevail against an enemy that we refuse to identify. Especially when Secretary of State John Kerry says we are not at war with ISIS—just a counter terrorism operation. With such confusion is there any surprise that some of our usual allies are balking in joining the President’s new strategy?

All Muslims do not belong to these groups that are an existential threat to all we hold dear—but few such “moderates” speak out against that threat that is all too real.

And one of these days—perhaps soon, we will confront a nuclear-armed Islamic threat—and that will truly be bad news If an Islamic State or Islamic terrorists can detonate a nuclear weapon high above the United States, they will produce an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that shuts down our currently unhardened electric power grid, leaving our just-in-time economy stagnant for an indefinite period—no transportation, communication, water, food, etc. Think about what that would mean for you and your family.

Earlier this week, I joined several colleagues in laying out this threat at a San Francisco conference on the resilience of the electric grid. In particular, Frank Gaffney, Peter Pry and George Baker and I held forth on the natural and manmade EMP threat and obstacles to protecting against them.

We were joined by former Maine state representative Andrea Boland (D-Sanford) who persuaded the Maine powers that be to be the first state to pass legislation seeking to harden Maine’s grid to this threat—the first state in the nation to do so. Also, Florida state representative Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinder (D-House District 9), who is pressing for similar legislation in Florida was there. They both spoke out encouraging state action.

Click here for my self-explanatory briefing on these threats that could kill up to 9-out-of-10 Americans within a year. You’ve seen it all before. Below is my final summary chart.

Anyway . . . Not an Islamic threat, Mr. President? Surely you jest, you cannot be that stupid . . .

Near Term High Frontier Plans.

Washington is badly broken—both the Executive and Legislative Branches. As illustrated above, our Commander-in-Chief is not addressing an all too real existential threat. Congress is doing nothing to require the electric power companies to harden the electric power grid. Neither is seeking to defend against possible attacks from the south to which we are completely vulnerable.

Thus, we are renewing our efforts to inform the state and local authorities—and publics—in states around the Gulf of Mexico of the important role their states can play in defending all Americans against the existential EMP threat.

Given the lethargy in Washington, we will continue informing all who will listen about the existential EMP threat and expanding our work with the National Guard to help them gain knowledge and workable plans to help harden the electric power grid and counter the EMP threat. This work will go hand in hand with efforts of State legislators who are seeking to expand on the excellent work of those in Maine and Virginia, who have passed legislation requiring serious studies of the EMP threat and the needed countermeasures to protect the electric power grid.

The most recent bill passed in record time without a single negative vote in Virginia can be used as a ready pattern.

We are working with South Carolina National Guard to help them understand how best to engage constructively with private citizens and their local and state representatives and other authorities to understand and respond to this serious threat. We also are supporting related activities in neighboring and other states to encourage deployment of Aegis Ashore on military bases around the Gulf of Mexico.

We are informing SC state legislators and senators about the threat and what can be done to deal with it—hopefully they will follow Maine and Virginia in seeking to harden the electric power grid. We also expect support from Cong. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) whose district includes my SC farm—and who is a member of the Congressional EMP Caucus seeking passage of the Shield Act and the Infrastructure Protection Act, as well as other SC representatives.

We will be working with members of the EMP Coalition and others who are seeking to take our message across the country—especially with Bob Newman, a former Adjutant General of Virginia, to help us link our SC plans more broadly and especially into Virginia and the National Capital region.

What can you do?

Join us in praying for our nation, and for a rebirth of the freedom sought, achieved and passed to us by those who came before us.

Help us to spread our message to the grass roots and to encourage all “powers that be” to provide for the common defense as they are sworn to do.

Begin by passing this message to your friends and suggest they visit our webpage, www.highfrontier.org for more information. Also, please encourage your sphere of influence to sign up for our weekly e-newsletter.

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