UPDATE: There is more reaction to this story. A commenter below suggests that Coughlan does not speak Arabic. I wonder how he knows ? This piece by Claudia Rosett on the story suggests it is Islam who is lacking credentials. I’m sure we’ll hear more as time goes by and the troops on each side rally to their standard. Mine is our national safety. I don’t know what Islam’s is. Or his accolyte defending him in the comments. By the way, I am a veteran.
There have been a number of books about the trend toward accommodation with militant Islam in Europe. Melanie Phillips’ Londonstan is one of them. Another is Eurabia. Mark Steyn addressed this concern in America Alone. What none of these authors seem to have addressed is the fact that we have our own little beachhead of militant Islam right in the Pentagon.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England seems to be conducting a new and little understood foreign policy all by himself. I don’t see anything in his biography to suggest that he is unduly influenced by Muslim pressure. His career in the defense industry has certainly exposed him to the various midde eastern potentates. My brother-in-law spent quite a bit of time in Saudi Arabia (Where, among other experences he once shared a sauna with Idi Amin), but that experience left him with little love for the Muslim fanatics. He had dropped some bombs on them earlier as a Marine pilot in the Gulf War. No, there must be other reasons why England is siding with potential enemies of his country.
Hasham Islam seems to be the key figure in England’s office. Not everyone is happy wth that. Who is Islam ? He has been advocating outreach to American Muslim groups. The trouble is that some of the groups he wants to engage, have been busy with other concerns. Is this really the role of the Defense Department ? Are these people the ones we should be reaching out to ?
Also, does the firing of an official who is an expert on Islamic law because he is a Christian sound right ?
There are plenty of people upset, but what do you do about it ? Banging your head on the desk won’t do it. I thought we had a Republican president who was fighting a war on terrorsm. Who knew his advice was coming from folks like these?