By Joe Bilello - Fox News
During a Wednesday Q&A session following a press briefing by Florida and FBI officials on the horrific terror attack at the nightclub in Orlando, a reporter could be heard asking, "Is the FBI tracking the Westboro Baptist Church"? FBI agent Ron Hopper quickly dismissed the ridiculous question by saying, "I have no information on that at this time."
Unfortunately, the absurdity of that question does not merely represent the idiocy of one naïve reporter. It represents a dangerous ideology that is shared among many high-ranking government officials who are charged with the task of keeping us safe.
Every radical Islamist terror attack is an opportunity for those on the left to remind us how wonderful and peace-loving most Muslims are. It is also an opportunity to remind us of the potential threat lurking in the shadows, from a group who never actually partakes in any terrorist activities – “right-wing extremists.”
At a Homeland Security Advisory Council’s meeting following the San Bernardino terrorist attack, DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson told advisors that right-wing extremists pose just as much of a threat to the country as Islamic extremists. According to official meeting minutes, council member and Austin police chief Art Acevedo "reminded the Council that the threat from right-wing extremists domestically is just as real as the threat from Islamic extremism."On Wednesday, only days after the terror attack in Orlando, House Democrats actually held a meeting to discuss the threat of “violent extremism on America’s public lands." Or, in other words, the threat of “right-wing extremism."
If Homeland Security truly believes that right-wing extremists in America pose an equal threat, can we assume that they devote an equal amount of resources to combating the perceived threat? If not an equal amount, at least a significant amount? While Omar Mateen was plotting his massacre, were federal officials keeping an eye on Randy from Tuscaloosa, who just received his NRA membership card or Steve from Charlotte who just signed up for the "Limbaugh Letter"? As deplorable as the Westboro Baptists are, are we to believe that DHS cannot differentiate between those who carry signs reading "God hates ***s" and those who walk into a gay nightclub and slaughter scores of people in the name of their god?
The FBI has come under criticism for their failure to thwart the actions of the nightclub terrorist, who had been on their radar for quite some time. The excuse was the same excuse that every government agency uses following a massive failure - they need more money and resources. Those who take the threat of Islamic terrorism seriously are inclined to agree. The FBI should have more agents and whatever resources necessary to fight the most serious threat facing our nation today. But before we just throw more money at the problem, maybe we need to evaluate how current resources are being allocated. Maybe they can take some agents who are currently monitoring the Tea Party, college Republican clubs or American Legion basement bars and have them focus on radical Muslim extremists.
Keeping watch on the extreme minority of actual right-wing extremists may be a legitimate function of law enforcement. But we know how flippant the left can be when determining the criteria for what they consider to be “right-wing extremism.” And placing it on the same level as Islamic extremism is nothing short of lunacy.
The other day, President Barack Obama said "there is no magic to the word radical Islam." Echoing the President, Hillary Clinton said that Donald Trump "has been fixated on the phrase and I quote, radical Islam as if those are magic words that once uttered will stop terrorists from going after us."
No one believes that simply uttering the words “Islamic terror” will put an end to Islamic terror. While speaking the words may just be symbolic, it is at least an acknowledgment that one is aware of the problem and might help ease the minds of those who believe you cannot fight an enemy you are not even willing to name. Hillary Clinton can’t even say the words without it being prefaced with an “I quote."
But what is not symbolic and what is not just “magic words” is the way DHS, the FBI, the CIA and all federal and local law enforcement is allocating the resources necessary to fight Islamic extremism. And if they are devoting more than a small fraction of their resources to fighting non-existent "right-wing extremism," then they are not doing everything in their power to keep the American people safe.
