Remembering 9/11

The media and social media are filled today with remembrances of the 2001 attacks on 9/11. Sundance pays tribute with this photo:

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Trump on Islamic threat: Make America Safe Again

photo credit: indianexpress.com

GOP Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump spoke today in Youngstown, Ohio on the threat to America and western civilization coming from Islamic jihad. The full text is here and contains extensive footnotes. Two take-aways:

The Obama-Clinton foreign policy has unleashed ISIS, destabilized the Middle East, and put the nation of Iran – which chants ‘Death to America’– in a dominant position of regional power and, in fact, aspiring to be a dominant world power. It all began in 2009 with what has become known as President Obama’s global ‘Apology Tour.’

In a series of speeches, President Obama described America as “arrogant,” “dismissive” “derisive” and a “colonial power.” He informed other countries that he would be speaking up about America’s “past errors.” He pledged that we would no longer be a “senior partner,” that “sought to dictate our terms.” He lectured CIA officers of the need to acknowledge their mistakes, and described Guantanamo Bay as a “rallying cry for our enemies.”

Perhaps no speech was more misguided than President Obama’s speech to the Muslim World delivered in Cairo, Egypt, in 2009.

In winning the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan repeatedly touted the superiority of freedom over communism, and called the USSR the Evil Empire.

Yet, when President Obama delivered his address in Cairo, no such moral courage could be found. Instead of condemning the oppression of women and gays in many Muslim nations, and the systematic violations of human rights, or the financing of global terrorism, President Obama tried to draw an equivalency between our human rights record and theirs. 

His naïve words were followed by even more naïve actions.

. . .

Our victory in the Cold War relied on a bipartisan and international consensus. That is what we must have to defeat Radical Islamic terrorism. But just like we couldn’t defeat communism without acknowledging that communism exists – or explaining its evils – we can’t defeat Radical Islamic Terrorism unless we do the same. This also means we have to promote the exceptional virtues of our own way of life – and expecting that newcomers to our society do the same. Pride in our institutions, our history and our values should be taught by parents and teachers, and impressed upon all who join our society.

Assimilation is not an act of hostility, but an expression of compassion. Our system of government, and our American culture, is the best in the world and will produce the best outcomes for all who adopt it.

This approach will not only make us safer, but bring us closer together as a country.

Renewing this spirit of Americanism will help heal the divisions in our country. It will do so by emphasizing what we have in common – not what pulls us apart.

The rest is here. Or if you prefer to watch on video, it’s here.

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A specific plan to defeat ISIS?

Photo credit: GettyImages

As a Cleveland Tea Party Patriot, I receive regular emails from Tea Party Patriots’ national office and also their PAC, Tea Party Patriot Citizen Fund. Today, the email from the Citizen Fund reported on Ted Cruz’s efforts to win support from evangelicals; Jeb Bush’s message on national security; and Rubio's plan to defeat ISIL [ISIS]. The section refers the reader to Senator Rubio’s plan, published on the Politico blog here. 

I would also refer the reader to Ed Straker’s take on Sen. Rubio’s plan over at American Thinker here. Its title is “Marco Rubio wants to defeat ISIS by arming ISIS and fighting its enemies,” and here is an extract (Rubio's words appear in gray highlight):

Marco Rubio has a plan for defeating ISIS.  . . .

As president, I would demand that Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government grant greater autonomy to Sunnis, and would provide direct military support to Sunnis and the Kurds if Baghdad fails to support them.

Guess who is currently supporting ISIS, lock, stock, and barrel: the Sunnis!  Rubio would arm them directly.

Cutting off oxygen to ISIL also requires defeating Assad in Syria. I would declare no-fly zones to ground Assad’s air force and coalition-controlled “safe zones” in the country to stop his military

If Assad is defeated, can you guess who will move in and take over his territory?  I'll give you a hint: the group's name begins with the letter "I."

. . .

Marco Rubio is not a brilliant foreign policy strategist.  . . .  When Politico starts publishing his press releases, you know you're reading the words of an establishment Republican.

Cleveland Tea Party Patriots is nonpartisan and does not endorse or contribute to any candidate, but it does want to contribute to debates on major issues, in this case, a strategy to defeat ISIS. 

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