A hard reality is finally sinking in across America. For a long time now—actually for more than thirty-five years—the United States has been at war with an enemy sworn to its destruction.
It did not seek enmity with this enemy. But the growing hostility the United States is experiencing is the byproduct of forces that long predated the establishment of this country, to say nothing of its adoption toward the end of the 20th century of certain policies towards the Middle East or other regions.
The enemy is the Global Jihad Movement. And it is inspired, guided, and enabled by the Islamic supremacist doctrine its adherents call Shariah.
For much of this period, the U.S. government has pursued various approaches to the threats posed by that enemy—including selective military engagements, benign neglect, willful blindness, and outright appeasement. They have all shared one common denominator—they ignore the aforementioned realities and, as a practical matter, have exacerbated them.
Yet, no one has advanced a more reality-based, more practical and more effective way to counter, let alone defeat, this ideologically driven enemy than Glenn Beck.
As a multi-media phenomenon; a best-selling author; the host of a nationally syndicated daily radio show; and a television host on Blaze TV, which now can be seen on cable TV, Glenn has picked up on these themes and explains them to his varied audiences, which now total an estimated 8 million listeners and viewers. Much like William Wilberforce, Glenn says what has to be said and speaks the Truth. It is interesting to me that the inscription on William Wilberforce’s statue in Westminster Abbey says among other things:
He was called to endure great obloquy and great opposition. He outlived, however, all enmity.
What was said here about Wilberforce could equally be said about Glenn Beck. Glenn has an infectious combination of patriotism, courage, vision, self-deprecating humor and determination to use his success as a force for Good. He is willing to take on issues the rest of the media should be addressing but have not, particularly with respect to the war we are now engaged in with extremist Muslims.
I recently had an opportunity to see how this works in practice. A few months back, I was invited to come on his Blaze TV show to discuss with Glenn his current thinking about the forces challenging our security. A major part of his TV program that day included a chalkboard special showing how various seemingly disparate elements—i.e., the Left, the jihadists, the Russians, the Iranians—are making common cause against us. It also served as an indictment of current U.S. foreign policy in the face of this array of hostile forces.
Glenn Beck explaining who Europe is on fire politically and how this is coming to the U.S.
We had two segments together. During the commercial break between them, I returned to a topic he and I have discussed (on and off the air) for years—the success of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic supremacists in advancing via stealthy means the goals they share with their violent jihadist offshoots. I mentioned three current news pegs that illuminate the sorts of influence operations at the core of what the Brothers call “civilization jihad”:
Huma Abedin, the former State Department Deputy Chief of Staff who has extensive ties to the Muslim Brotherhood is back in the spotlight, thanks to her emails on Hillary Clinton’s private server and her role in destroying thousands of Mrs. Clinton’s “personal” messages.
Andr Carson, a Democratic congressman from Indiana who also has been associated with the Brotherhood’s front groups and operatives for two decades. He was recently appointed by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to the House Intelligence Committee.
President Obama, who featured during his February “Countering Violent Extremism” White House summit the Islamic Society of Boston, a Muslim Brotherhood mosque tied to at least a dozen prominent jihadists, including the two Tsarnaev brothers.
In the course of our interview, Glenn did something that is characteristic of him and that sets him apart from just about everybody else in the media and public life. He unhesitatingly spoke Truth to power. The Nation owes Glenn Beck a debt of gratitude for calling out what needs to be said and for bringing to bear on behalf of freedom his unique combination of entrepreneurial spirit, showmanship, media savvy, and his love of country.
• Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. is President of the Center for Security Policy.
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