Obama labels terrorist 'isolated extremist'

In custody, terror suspect 23 year old Abdulmutallab

Photo- nydailynews.com

During a speech made in the wake of the Christmas day attempt to kill 278 passengers and 11 crew members aboard NWA’s flight 253 bound for Detroit and an incalculable number of other Americans on the ground, Barack Obama described the perpetrator of the stymied attack, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, as an “isolated extremist,” despite the subject’s quick confession to being an Al Qaeda operative and that terrorist organization’s confirmation of same.

Opponents on the right regard this as a pattern wherein Mr. Obama supposes to speak authoritatively without first knowing all the facts. An analogy has been made between this speech and the president’s remarks condemning - before the facts were known - Cambridge, MA. police for acting “stupidly” in a situation where veteran officer Sgt. James Crowley arrested Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. for “exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior in a public place.”

Although during the same speech Mr. Obama vowed not to “rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable,” political rivals are continuing to question the president’s resolve and sincerity based upon other issues concerning terrorism and Islamists.

Specifically in view is the Obama administration’s unwillingness to designate what most clearly see to be acts of terrorism as such. The Fort Hood Texas massacre in November executed by Islamic jihadist Major Nidal Malik Hasan is one such incident.

Pundits further point to the administration’s mincing of words whereby the ongoing “war on terror” was redefined an “overseas contingency operation,” terrorists labeled “enemy combatants,” and acts of terror “man-made disasters.”

Those even more cynical of the president have pointed to comments he made in his book “The Audacity of Hope,” where he wrote regarding Muslims, “I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction,” which they believe is indicative of Obama’s true loyalties.

Critics have further questioned the “after the fact” actions Obama has ordered; enhanced airport security, additional air marshals, and a review of the breakdown in communication that caused the suspect’s name to appear in some intelligence reports as a terror suspect, but NOT to appear on the “no fly list,” citing pre 9/11 mentality and questioning why it took this incident to enact such measures.

Adding fuel to the fire of what many Americans see as “liberals euphemizing the situation,” MSNBC this morning published an article exploring the terror suspect’s feelings of loneliness and conflict regarding his religious views. The column describing Abdulmutallab as privileged, yet troubled over never finding “a true Muslim friend,” is based largely on what are alleged to be Facebook postings by the subject.

The column, published in cooperation with the Washington Post, also refers to him as a faithful Islamist, quoting an uncle who said, “Farouk was a devoted Muslim who took his religion seriously...” a statement which heightens the view that Muslims who “take their religion seriously” are the ones who generally commit these types of acts.

It is interesting to note that a Facebook quasi-support group calling itself “Farouk Abdulmutallab: Villain or Victim” has appeared on that social network’s website. Although there certainly can be so-called “posers,” the majority of the members appear to be Islamic sympathizers supporting the terror suspect and calling into question the veracity of media reports about his involvement in the incident.

Until next time...

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