The stratospheric levels of unbridled incompetence and militant political correctness that is the hallmark of the Obama administration should terrify each and every American. Even in the aftermath of the Islamic State-inspired attack in San Bernardino, which left 14 dead and 21 wounded, the Obama administration is doubling down of its PC policies, and in the process putting the lives of each and every American at increased risk.

With multiple investigations underway into Islamist terrorists Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik following the San Bernardino attack, reports are revealing that political correctness on the part of the Obama administration has directly contributed to our inability to prevent the deaths of U.S. citizens.

Despite strong protests from senior officials within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Obama administration refused to end a secret policy that prohibited security officials from reviewing the social media posts of foreign citizens attempting to obtain visas for entry into the United States. This was due to the fear of DHS Director Jeh Johnson that the policy might create “bad public relations.”

Bad PR like 14 dead Americans?

Speaking to ABC News, former acting under-secretary for intelligence and analysis at DHS, John Cohen, reported, “During that time period immigration officials were not allowed to use or review social media as part of the screening process. … The primary concern was that it would be viewed negatively if it was disclosed publicly and there were concerns that it would be embarrassing.”

Another former senior counter-terrorism official, speaking of the heated meeting in 2014 in which Johnson refused the recommendation of his security officials to use social media as one way to vet foreign entrants, stated, “They felt looking at the postings [of foreign visa applicants] was an invasion of their privacy.”

Just to be clear, the head of the agency charged with protecting the American people from attack refuses to look at the social media postings, which are by definition public, of people who are not even U.S. citizens, and who may be here to do us harm, because he is afraid of violating their privacy rights. This is a weapons-grade level of PC-induced stupidity.

In the days following the attack, investigations revealed that the female jihadist, Tashfeen Malik, had posted what the FBI has called “extensive” messages about jihad and martyrdom on her social media pages, including pledging allegiance to the Islamic State. Even Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) saw the need to end this inane policy, stating, “Had they checked out Tashfeen Malik, maybe those people in San Bernardino would be alive.”

Though the Obama administration has tried to assuage fears of additional terrorist attacks on our homeland by assuring us that the vetting process for foreigners is rigorous, the reality is that political correctness has rendered these checks largely meaningless. Tashfeen Malik underwent five separate background checks (by DHS, State and ICE) before being granted a K-1 fiancé visa this summer, and none raised any red flags in the minds of our illustrious security apparatus, despite her open promotion of jihad on her social media pages.

The implications of this refusal to abandon political correctness, even when failure to do so means the loss of more American lives, is disheartening, terrifying and infuriating. Even as terrorist groups like the Islamic State have shown incredible sophistication in using social media and other technology platforms in order to recruit jihadist fighters and plan attacks, the Obama administration is more fearful of hurting the feelings of Muslims than in keeping Americans safe.

This situation will only get worse. Consider the following:

U.S. intelligence officials recently revealed that the Islamic State is now able to produce authentic-looking Syrian passports after capturing the Syrian cities of Deir ez-Zour and Raqqa, where Syrian passport offices containing cases of blank passports and passport printing machines are located. In fact, the report warns that, since the offices were captured by ISIL a year and a half ago, there is a high likelihood that its operatives have already entered the U.S. on forged Syrian passports. Fake Syrian passports have already been found throughout Europe, including two which were used by suicide bombers in the recent terrorist attacks on Paris.

Jihadi Trojan horse, anyone?

Former Customs and Border Patrol Analyst Phil Haney revealed how his efforts, which identified 300 terrorists and earned him a letter of commendation from his superiors, eventually resulted in him having his security clearance stripped when he protested the administration’s destruction of his records on the terrorists, which they claimed was evidence of profiling Muslims. According to Haney, “The administration was more concerned about the civil rights and liberties of foreign Islamic groups with terrorist ties than the security and safety of Americans.”

In the immediate aftermath of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, there are reports that Obama instructed the National Security Council and the FBI to downplay the terrorism angle, even though both organizations had quickly determined it to be Islamic terrorism. It seems Obama was determined to maintain the narrative that the attack had nothing to do with Islam. Skeptics should beware of voicing doubt though, as Attorney General Loretta Lynch has threatened to prosecute anyone deemed overly critical of Muslims.

The “resident expert” on the visa waiver program, DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Policy Kelli Ann Burriesci, was recently questioned by the Congressional Oversight Committee regarding flaws in the security of the department’s program, and the answers were as frightening as they were vacuous.

In response to their questions, Burriesci admitted she is clueless as to how many Syrian refugees have entered the U.S. in the last year, how many Americans have traveled to Syria and returned, how many visa overstays are currently in the U.S., and what percentage of those visa overstays leaving the U.S. they have been able to capture.

Yet we are supposed to trust that the Obama administration will be able to properly vet tens of thousands of Muslims coming from hostile countries and weed out the jihadists from the good guys. That may be a more difficult proposition than Obama will admit, considering that hundreds of Syrian “refugees” in Norway were recently found with pictures and videos of beheadings and executions on their phones.

Much like with the sieve that is the U.S. southern border, Obama has lost all right to ask us to trust him when it comes to matters of national security (or anything else). Americans will have to suffer for another year under Obama’s incompetence and militant political correctness, but we had better elect a new president who takes seriously the duty to support and defend the Constitution and the citizens of the United States. That is not Islamophobia. That is common sense.