Yesterday United States Representative Peter King (R-NY) began hearings on the threat of radical Islam in America. King has argued that the threat of radical Islam is not being taken seriously enough, and the larger Islamic community is not working hard enough with law enforcement to eliminate the threat. Critics of the hearing say it only increases the sense of “Islamaphobia” around America, and King cannot support his claims about moderate Muslims. Last night Jon Stewart focused on a separate criticism of King. In the video to the left Stewart argues that King is being hypocritical because of his past support for the IRA (Irish Republican Army).
In the 1980’s King publicly supported the IRA despite the organization’s use of terrorism to achieve political goals. Specifically, King stated,
"We must pledge ourselves to support those brave men and women who this very moment are carrying forth the struggle against British imperialism in the streets of Belfast and Derry."
In their effort to obtain more leverage with England, the IRA attacked not only military targets, but also British civilians in pubs and shops. When asked about these attacks in the 1980’s King stated,
“If civilians are killed in an attack on a military installation, it is certainly regrettable, but I will not morally blame the IRA for it.”
For liberals King’s investigation of Muslims is hypocritical given his own support for the IRA in the past. However, King argues the IRA is somehow different because they did not attack anyone on American soil. Stewart argues that this distinction is meaningless, and that the IRA has actually worked with Palestinian terrorist in the past.
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