Paris Mastermind Dead
French authorities confirmed [Thursday] morning that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the jihadist behind the Paris attacks, has been killed. He also planned the August train attack that was foiled by three Americans. I am glad Abaaoud has received justice. But neither he nor any other individual is the creator of radical Islam. The threat didn’t end after Osama bin Laden was killed and it won’t end with the death of Abaaoud. Jihadists are being created every day in radical mosques throughout the Middle East, Europe and, sadly, even in the U.S.
Editor’s note: This article was penned Thursday, Nov. 19.
Paris Mastermind Dead
French authorities confirmed this morning that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the jihadist behind the Paris attacks, has been killed. He also planned the August train attack that was foiled by three Americans.
I am glad Abaaoud has received justice. But neither he nor any other individual is the creator of radical Islam. The threat didn’t end after Osama bin Laden was killed and it won’t end with the death of Abaaoud. Jihadists are being created every day in radical mosques throughout the Middle East, Europe and, sadly, even in the U.S.
Underscoring that reality, ISIS has issued a new video threatening New York City and Italy is on high alert today after the FBI warned of a possible threat against the Vatican.
Obama Vs. America
As the lines harden over refugee policy, President Obama is digging in his heels. The White House has announced that Obama will veto legislation expected to easily pass the House of Representatives today. [Editor’s note: The House passed the legislation 289-137.]
That legislation aims to tighten vetting standards and requires that three top security officials certify that refugees entering the country pose no security risks. The legislation should be stronger.
Yet the president, most of the media and many left-wing politicians are willing to go to the mat to stop greater refugee screening, complaining that they could effectively suspend the refugee program for Syrians and Iraqis. (More on that below.)
A new Bloomberg poll shows that the conservative position on this issue is far more popular than the president’s. Sixty-four percent of Americans say they want the program suspended or limited to Christians, something Mr. Obama contends is shameful. Only 28% agree with the president and believe the refugee program should proceed without any additional safeguards in the aftermath of the Paris attacks.
The Bloomberg poll isn’t an outlier. A Rasmussen poll released this morning finds nearly identical results.
Obama Once Suspended The Refugee Program
The left’s hypocrisy is absolutely stunning. Barack Obama and his left-wing allies, including many journalists, are shaming Americans who say we need to pause the refugee program while we reassess its security protocols. Well guess what? That is exactly what the Obama administration did just two years ago.
Two Al Qaeda-linked terrorists from Iraq, who had the blood of American soldiers on their hands and had been arrested and fingerprinted in Iraq, managed to exploit the refugee program. In 2009, they were admitted to the U.S. and resettled in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Once here, they did not embrace Western Civilization. Instead, authorities said the men plotted to attack a military base or assassinate an Army officer they had known back in Iraq.
According to ABC News, “In the wake of the Kentucky case, the U.S. halted the refugee program for Iraqis for six months, a fact the Obama administration did not disclose to Congress at the time.”
We Have A Problem
As this debate rages, here are some headlines from last 24 hours:
5 Killed, Several Wounded In Tel Aviv, West Bank Terror Attacks
Honduras Detains [Six] Syrians Bound For U.S. With Doctored Greek Passports
Confirmed: 8 Syrians Caught At Texas Border In Laredo
6 Men From Pakistan/Afghanistan Busted Illegally Entering Arizona From Mexico
Five Foreign Nationals Arrested On Ohio Turnpike
Syrian Community Leader: ISIS Is Already In America
BLM Gets Brave
While the adults of the world are grappling with radical Islamic terrorism, the children at our institutions of higher learning are still struggling with safe spaces and micro-aggressions.
Activists with the Black Lives Matter movement occupied the administrative offices at Princeton University this week and demanded that all buildings honoring former President Woodrow Wilson be renamed due to Wilson’s racism.
I’m no fan of Wilson’s, but it is telling that these activists can’t find evil, hate and bigotry anywhere else in the world, even though it is raging all over. Their bravery is limited to fighting racism from 100 years ago on buildings at an Ivy League campus.
Meanwhile, a leader of the BLM movement had this to say about the on-going terror raids in France and Belgium: “I want to learn more about the French raids underway. But from what I’ve read so far, they seem like witch hunts.”
