Trump's Muslim Proposal May be Necessary

Critics of Donald Trump's proposal to prohibit Muslims from entering the United States need to keep in mind that the United States is involved in a war with a group that is attempting to get all Muslims to join its unholy crusade.  War sometimes forces national leaders to take actions to defend the nation that they would not otherwise consider.   During World War II President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the bombing of German cities even though he knew innocent children would likely be killed.

I believe that the vast majority of Muslims oppose what the terrorists who call themselves Muslims are doing.   However, even if less than one in 100,000  support terrorism, that is enough to pose a threat to our safety.  Ten men brought down the World Trade Towers.  Tim McVey wasn't a Muslim but he destroyed the federal building in Oklahoma City, Okla., with a truck loaded with fertilizer and diesel fuel.

The situation with Muslims reminds me of Vietnam.   We weren't completely sure which Vietnamese were friendly and which were not.  We sometimes wondered if the Vietnamese barbers who cut our hair in the afternoon would try to slip in and cut our throats at night. 

The terrorists are in a win-win situation on this issue.   If we allow foreign Muslims into the country they will probably be able to occasionally  slip in a terrorist like the woman involved in the San Bernardino shooting or the man who planted a car bomb in Times Square.  If we keep them out the terrorists can use the policy to convince Muslims we hate them.

Those who criticize Trump are ignoring the fact that he is more familiar with what terrorists can do than the rest of us.  His hometown New York City has been successfully attacked twice and nearly was the victim of a third attack.  

Trump is aware of the fact that American intelligence about the Middle East has been weak for decades.  The CIA failed to warn of the attack on the American embassy in Iran in the seventies and the 9/11 attack in 2001.  

Many of the people in the Middle East hate the United States because of European and American meddling in their affairs during the 20th Century.  European nations took over much of the region after World War I and imposed artificial political boundaries.   Later the United States helped the tyrant known as the Shah of Iran take control of that country and Saddam Hussein rule Iraq.  

Efforts by Westerners to ridicule the Muslim religion also generate anti-Western hatred.  These bigots call their efforts satire, but making fun of others is only satire if they of equal or higher status.   Making fun of those with lower status is ridicule.  Making fun of those who are down adds insult to injury.

In the coming election we will need to decide whether we want to risk allowing Muslim terrorists to enter the country legally or make it harder for the terrorists by restricting the innocent majority as well as the terrorist minority.