OPINION:
The many Obama administration scandals topped by the Edward Snowden fiasco is just the tip of the iceberg compared with the ineptness of the administration’s strategic policies now being exploited by our enemies, such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Despite the organization’s setback in Egypt, President Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world has certainly facilitated the Muslim Brotherhood’s penetration into U.S. government agencies that deals with national security, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Muslim Brotherhood penetration follows a similar route taken by the Soviet Union during the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. The communists were able to penetrate deeply into our government agencies, including the White House, a process thoroughly documented in a new book, “American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation’s Character,” by Diana West. Understanding past communist penetration is key to comprehending the Muslim Brotherhood’s successful penetration in America today.
Muslim Brotherhood penetration into U.S. government agencies goes back to at least the Carter administration, when the Iran lobby was also alive and well. Iran’s acts of war against the United States, which included support for the Sept. 11 attacks, have gone on for almost 34 years and has cost thousands of American lives.
A May 24 article by Clare Lopez describes a new, improved “axis of jihad,” which was formed in Sudan in the 1990s. This violent jihad terrorist axis consists of Iran, Hezbollah and al Qaeda. The Muslim Brotherhood eventually joined in this axis.
The point that is always missed is that there is no difference between the Muslim Brotherhood’s “stealthy jihad” and the violent jihad of al Qaeda. Their objectives are the same — the establishment of an Islamic caliphate and complete subjugation to Shariah law.
The current turmoil we face in the Middle East did not start with the “Arab Spring” movement, nor with the Obama administration’s dysfunctional strategic policies, but they certainly have contributed to it. In his speech in Cairo on June 4, 2009, Mr. Obama in effect signaled U.S. support for Islamic uprisings. His overture to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood was an invitation to declare war on a U.S. ally and his host, then-President Hosni Mubarak.
Furthermore, under the Obama administration’s political strategy, we switched sides in the Islamic jihad wars, and nobody noticed. We ignored rebel atrocities and became supporters of al Qaeda-affiliated militias and rebels. The Obama administration’s policy of promoting the Muslim Brotherhood as a moderate political and largely secular force was a misguided one that actually legitimized the Islamic supremacists. America’s reward for its sanguine stance was the Benghazi attack in Libya.
Elsewhere in the world, we are being challenged by China’s continuous double-digit massive military buildup and its illegal bullying tactics in both the South and East China seas. We are also witnessing Russian President Vladimir Putin revive Soviet-era Cold War tactics in areas of our strategic interest.
Both China and Russia continue to modernize their strategic nuclear and conventional forces. Both are developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles. China has 3,000 miles of reinforced underground tunnels for its strategic nuclear forces and is also developing new land-mobile and sea-based ballistic missiles. Not to be overlooked is the problem of a nuclear-armed erratic North Korea and Iran’s nuclear weapons program with its apocalyptic mindset. Therefore, Mr. Obama’s unilateral proposal to reduce our deployed strategic nuclear forces by one-third defies logic and reality.
The impact of fighting two wars over the past decade has taken its toll on our military forces. With sequestration now implemented, the unilateral disarmament of our military, undertaken at a time when global instability is increasing, is unconscionable.
Even the dedication and professionalism of our military personnel have not escaped the debilitating impact of Mr. Obama’s social-engineering agenda — none of which has improved combat readiness. When diversity becomes the No. 1 priority for our military forces, rather than professionalism — particularly when we are being challenged — it should raise red flags.
Our military forces are now being denied the appropriate training and background material for combating Islamic terrorism. How did this happen? A group of 57 Muslim leaders wrote a letter to CIA Director John O. Brennan when he was Mr. Obama’s national security adviser for terrorism, complaining about the training and background material used to educate our military forces and law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, about Islamic terrorism. As a result, all training materials, instructors and background material have been purged to remove any reference that associates Islam with terrorism. To ensure compliance, a Muslim Brotherhood advisory board was established to review all revised training material.
The FBI in 2004 seized an internal Muslim Brotherhood document that clearly spelled out the organization’s goals in the United States: employ “stealthy jihad” to sabotage the United States from within. The document listed 29 like-minded organizations, many of which were signatories to the letter sent to Mr. Brennan by the group of 57.
Our diminished credibility, coupled with our unilateral disarmament, raises the question: Are we being sabotaged from within? Not only is our credibility on the line, but our freedoms are as well.
Retired Adm. James A. Lyons was commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations.
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