Hillary Clinton: Secretary of Malarkey
Radio news reports of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks about terrorism and economic development were insufficient basis for a blog post. I found the search to be difficult until I located a New York Times article by Nicholas Kristof which provide a link to Foreign Policy, which published the Secretary's prepared remarks delivered to the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C..
News reports gave the impression that Secretary Clinton had implied that terrorism is a function of poverty & deprivation, which can be ameliorated by economic development. In skimming the prepared remarks, the sound bite stood out like a sore thumb
We cannot stop terrorism or defeat the ideologies of violent extremism when hundreds of millions of young people see a future with no jobs, no hope, and no way ever to catch up to the developed world.Let us apply logic to that statement. Hati is impoverished, with little hope for the future. Are Hatians detonating themselves? Are they hijacking aircraft and flying them into office towers? If terrorism is a function of poverty, why aren't Hatians engaged in terrorist acts?
Were the five American Muslims who went to Pakistan to join the Jihad hopeless, uneducated victims of poverty? One of them was a dental student, others were employed. They had sufficient money to purchase expensive tickets to fly to Pakistan. How about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab? Is the British educated son of a Nigerian Banker impoverished? How could he afford a ticket to America?
Ayman al-Zawahiri is a pediatrician. Usama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammad are engineers. Why are those professionals who could earn good incomes engaged in terrorism while the impoverished Hatians are not? What do Abdulmutallab, Zawahiri & bin Ladin have in common? Could it be Islam?
How could Islam motivate Muslims to engage in terrorism? [Emphasis added.]
- 33:21. Indeed in the Messenger of Allâh (Muhammad ) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allâh and the Last Day and remembers Allâh much.
- Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and I have been made victorious with terror (cast in the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand." Abu Huraira added: Allah's Apostle has left the world and now you, people, are bringing out those treasures (i.e. the Prophet did not benefit by them). - Bukhari Volume 9, Book 90, Number 333:
Narrated Al-A'rai:
Abu Huraira said, Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hand my life is, I would love to fight in Allah's Cause and then get martyred and then resurrected (come to life) and then get martyred and then resurrected (come to life) and then get martyred, and then resurrected (come to life) and then get martyred and then resurrected (come to life)." Abu Huraira used to repeat those words three times and I testify to it with Allah's Oath.
- Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have."
In fact, the Qur'an reveals that terrorism is an intrinsic sacrament, foundational to Islam, not a modern innovation.
- 3:151. We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they joined others in worship with Allâh, for which He had sent no authority; their abode will be the Fire and how evil is the abode of the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrongdoers).
- 8:12. (Remember) when your Lord inspired the angels, "Verily, I am with you, so keep firm those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved, so strike them over the necks, and smite over all their fingers and toes."
- 8:57. So if you gain the mastery over them in war, punish them severely in order to disperse those who are behind them, so that they may learn a lesson.
- 8:60. Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of God and your enemies, and others besides, whom ye may not know, but whom God doth know. Whatever ye shall spend in the cause of God, shall be repaid unto you, and ye shall not be treated unjustly. [Abdullah Yusuf Ali]
- 33:26. And those of the people of the Scripture who backed them (the disbelievers) Allâh brought them down from their forts and cast terror into their hearts, (so that) a group (of them) you killed, and a group (of them) you made captives.
- 59:2. He it is Who drove out the disbelievers among the people of the Scripture (i.e. the Jews of the tribe of Bani An-Nadir) from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think that they would get out. And they thought that their fortresses would defend them from Allah! But Allah's (Torment) reached them from a place whereof they expected it not, and He cast terror into their hearts, so that they destroyed their own dwellings with their own hands and the hands of the believers. Then take admonition, O you with eyes (to see).
- 59:13. Verily, you (believers in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) are more awful as a fear in their (Jews of Bani An-Nadir) breasts than Allah. That is because they are a people who comprehend not (the Majesty and Power of Allah).
Which is better, poor terrorists who can't afford explosives and airline tickets or rich terrorists who can build bombs and travel at will? Facilitating economic development in Islamic nations only serves to improve their ability to attack us.
Is it possible that a graduate of the Yale law school is unable to get a clue? If the Secretary of State reads this without obtaining a clue, then we must assume that malfeasance is involved.
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