Rep. Hoekstra tries, fails to kill Orwellian speech codes...

Rep. Hoekstra tries, fails to kill Orwellian speech codes restricting use of word "jihad"

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/020935.php

“Trying to impose speech codes on how to describe our enemy smacks of McCarthyism in reverse.”

"Hoekstra Effort to Strip Earmarks from Intelligence Bill Successful," a press release from Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), May 7 (thanks to Patrick Poole):

...Hoekstra also sponsored an amendment, rejected by committee Democrats, that would prohibit the intelligence community from adopting speech codes that encumber accurately describing the radical jihadist terrorists that attacked America and continue to threaten the homeland.

“Trying to impose speech codes on how to describe our enemy smacks of McCarthyism in reverse,” Hoekstra said. “Al-Qaeda knows point blank that they want to kill Americans. How sad is it that as we approach the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we are still debating how to define our enemy?”...
_________________
"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/020935.php

US Infidel, above, referred to the problem of Arabists in the State Department - a problem not unique to the USA (Britain and France, inter alia, also labour under this handicap).

Two particularly terrifying examples - where State tried, but failed, to push the Arab agenda - are seen in the history of US/ israel relations.

Just read through this article by Abraham Rabinovich 'Birthing Pains' in JPost, May 7 2008
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1209627035661&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

which I found in JPost, revisiting various events prior to Israel's declaration of independence, and referring, towards the end, how the US State Department advised President Truman. And Truman came within an ace of listening to them.

There's also *this* article, from Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, going into MUCH more detail on the tensions between Truman and State Dept. Thanks to the Arabists at State, the USA came within an ace of throwing the yishuv to the jihad wolves.

http://wwwjcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=2&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=376&PID=0&IID=2108&TTL=President_Truman%27s_Decision_to_Recognize_Israel

A similar face-off between then President LBJ and his (Arabist, covertly or openly anti-Semitic) State Dept, occurred just after the Six Day War: see Yehuda Avner's article, 'On the Seventh Day', Jerusalem Post, 5.6.2007:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1180960614908&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

This is some of what happened. Look at how the President's advisers behaved. Levi Eshcol was virtually on his knees begging LBJ for the only thing that would achieve darura - sufficient clout to deter the rapidly re-arming Arab Muslim forces.

In case the link breaks, I will put it here, for all to see the open and indeed ugly hostility from people like Rusk.

"OK, that's the Arab side. Now what about your side? What do you have?" The president was eyeing the [Israeli] prime minister unblinkingly, as if trying to track the motives behind his thoughts. Eshkol's response, when it came, was slow, soft, and disturbing:
"We have no more than 150 aircraft, all French, 66 of them virtually obsolete. The French are contracted to send us 50 more, but because of their boycott we won't get them. In a word, Mr. President" - their eyes met and caught - "we presently do not have the minimum means to defend ourselves."
A FLICKER crossed Johnson's brow and he exchanged glances with his advisers. "So what are you asking for exactly? Spell it out." The voice was terse and tight.
Eshkol, knowing this was the decisive moment, adjusted his spectacles, cleared his throat, and said in a measured tone, "What I'm asking for, Mr. President, is the one aircraft that has the necessary range and versatility to enable us to face down our enemies. I'm asking for your F-4 Phantom jets."
Johnson's eyes became strangely veiled. The Phantom was America's newest state-of-the-art fighter-bomber.

'Mr. President," pressed Eshkol, a sudden edge of desperation in his voice, "please understand, my country is extremely vulnerable. One defeat in the field can be fatal to our survival. What I ask of you is the minimum for our self-defense. Without those Phantoms we will be deprived of our minimum security. We need 50 Phantoms as rapidly as possible."
Johnson returned him an unreceptive look and Eshkol, really charged up now, said, "Mr. President, last June our enemies tried to destroy us, and we defeated them all. Had we waited one more day, even one more hour, before forestalling them the outcome might have been very different. Yet I come here with no sense of boastful triumph; nor have I entered the struggle for peace in the role of victor. The only feeling I have is one of relief that we were saved from national disaster, and I thank God for that. Now, all my thoughts are turned toward winning the peace - peace with honor between equals."
"That is a noble thought," said Johnson.
"Thank you, but we need the tools to help bring that peace about. I regret to say that" - a sudden bitter irony crept into his voice - "the United States is the only source we have for those tools. Within two years our Arab neighbors will have 900-1,000 Soviet aircraft. So it's an either/or situation.
Either you provide us with the arms we need, or you leave us to our fate. It's as simple as that."
And then, almost in a whisper, "Mr. President, Israel is pleading for your help."
LYNDON BAINES Johnson...said: "I am impressed by your statement, Mr. Prime Minister. However, as you know, we are facing a difficult situation in Vietnam, calling on our resources. I suggest, therefore, you look elsewhere to find your weapons, not only here in the United States."
Eshkol threw him a cynical smile. "Please tell me where. I would be delighted to look elsewhere if you can give me an address."
"That's as may be, but I regret that your visit here is so closely tied to this matter of the Phantoms. Planes won't radically change your realities. Your big problem is how two-and-a-half million Jews [Israel's population at the time] can live in a sea of Arabs."
Secretary of state Dean Rusk, a solid and benevolent sort, chimed in to say in a reasonable and persuasive tone,
"Mr. Prime Minister, in all honesty, whatever efforts Israel makes in the field of military build-up, the Arabs will better you every time. If the Arabs see an Israel they cannot live with, one that is intolerable to them, they won't back away from an arms race. On the contrary, they will turn increasingly to the Soviets, to the detriment of the American interest. So what we would like to hear from you today is, what kind of an Israel do you want the Arabs to live with, and what kind of an Israel do you want the American people to support? The answer, surely, is not to be found in military hardware."
"These are difficult remarks you are making, Mr. Secretary," said Eshkol stonily. "All I can say to you now is that our victory in the Six Day War blocked the Soviet Union from taking over the Middle East; and that, surely, is an American interest.
'As for the kind of an Israel the Arabs can live with and which the American people can support, the only answer I can presently give is an Israel whose map will be different from the one of the eve of the Six Day War."
"How different?" quizzed Rusk cagily.

ESHKOL, HIS voice brimming with sincerity, replied, "Please understand, we did not want that June war. We could have lived indefinitely within the old pre-1967 armistice lines. But now that there has been a war, we cannot return to those old, vulnerable frontiers."
Clearly not wanting a high-stress exchange to escalate into an all-out dispute, the president intervened and suggested a break. When the talks resumed, the president said he would like to try and get a peace process going, to which Eshkol interjected with uncharacteristic adamancy:
"Mr. President, I would love somebody here in this room to tell me when and where and how I can get a peace process going. I wouldn't be here asking for Phantoms if somebody could tell me that.
'But instead of peace we are faced with an unprecedented Arab rearmament that again threatens our very existence. The immediate issue is the means to defend ourselves against another attempted onslaught. Israel feels weaker now than before the Six Day War.
'Why? Because as you rightly said, we are a small country of two-and-a-half million Jews surrounded by a sea of Arabs. So what are we supposed to do - wait until Russia gives them so many planes that they can dictate their terms at will?"

His face had gone white. "Mr. President," he galloped on, "the State of Israel is the last chance for the Jewish people. I pray with all my heart to avoid another war. But I know of only one address to acquire the means to defend ourselves - and that address is you."

ROBERT McNAMARA, the secretary of defense, raised a finger. He was a handsome man in his early fifties, with a square chin, a fine mop of hair parted in the middle, and rimless glasses that gave him an intellectual look. There was nothing about him to suggest he was in the midst of a Vietnamese war that would prove one of the bloodiest America had ever fought.

"Having studied the evidence," he began with dispassion, "it seems clear to me that two-and-a half million Jews truly cannot withstand the whole of the Arab world, particularly if the Arabs are assisted by the Russians.
'Therefore, the supply of a substantial number of the most sophisticated aircraft could only increase Russian support for the Arabs. At the same time, there is no reason for Israel to say it has been abandoned. This will not occur while President Johnson is president. However, for the US to supply you with planes might greatly increase the supply of Russian planes to the Arabs. So, given these unknowns, we have to proceed with the utmost caution."

This obscure and contradictory comment aroused the ire of General Motti Hod, commander of Israel's Air Force, who, with undisguised cynicism, countered:
"The arms race, Mr. McNamara, has never been influenced by what we have in our hangers. The only limiting factor is the Arab capacity to absorb the aircraft the Soviets supply."

And then to Johnson, "Your secretary of defense says that as long as you, Mr. President, are president, Israel will never be abandoned. Might I suggest that the one way of guaranteeing that, and of assuring that US forces will never have to come to our rescue, is by keeping our air force strong."

THE PRESIDENT suggested another brief break for consultations, after which he said in summation:
"I think we can agree on three objectives. First, there is the need to do what we can to bring about a stable peace. Second, we are all anxious to deter, if possible, an arms race. Third, the United States has a hope and a purpose of assuring, if necessary, adequate equipment to the Israel Air Force to defend itself. And in connection with this goal I suggest that the following sentence be written into our joint communique at the conclusion of this session."

'He picked up a paper, and read: "The president agreed to keep Israel's defense capability under active and sympathetic review in light of all the relevant factors, including the shipment of military equipment by others into the area."
To this he added by way of explanation, "This statement will be helpful in deterring the Arabs, and might even push them toward restraint. It also says to the Soviets, 'Stop, look, and listen.' And it gives you something concrete, Mr. Prime Minister, to stand on."
This, in diplomatic-speak, translated into, "Yes. You'll have your Phantoms," and a deeply relieved prime minister responded, "Thank you, Mr. President. I thank you from the heart." END QUOTE

It was a chillingly close-run thing - primarily because of Rusk, and McNamara.
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"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.

Intel bill passes with Hoekstra amendment to ban funding to promote gov't guidance on "jihad"-free lexicon

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/021928.php

Some good news, in an update on this story. "Michigan rep fights terrorism words ban," from UPI, July 23:

HOLLAND, Mich., July 23 (UPI) -- The intelligence bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives includes a ban on a new policy about which words officials should use to describe terrorists.

The new policy, contained in guidelines issued by the National Counter-Terrorism Center and the departments of State and Homeland Security), warns that that using terms like "Jihadi" or "Islamic terrorist," might alienate moderate Muslims and inadvertently build support for terrorists.

But an amendment to the 2009 Intelligence Authorization Act passed last week bans the use of any government money to promote the guidance in U.S. intelligence agencies.

The amendment, authored by U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, [R]-Mich., was approved by a 249-180 vote. Fellow Republican Michigan Reps. Joe Knollenberg and Thaddeus McCotter supported the amendment, The Detroit News reported Wednesday, and 55 Democrats joined them, despite the opposition of the party leadership.

"I am sympathetic to the argument that if used inappropriately, the words can be counterproductive but I find that the people who are criticizing this are very short on alternatives," Hoekstra said. "So how do they want us to describe al-Qaida and what they are involved with?"

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations-Michigan said there were alternatives. "CAIR supports using terminology such as 'criminals,' 'murderers' or 'terrorists' that help isolate extremists and remove the false cloak of religiosity they use to justify their barbaric actions," he told the newspaper.

More importantly for CAIR, limiting the terminology in that manner disconnects actions from ideology so no one starts asking questions, particularly about notions like the "false cloak of religiosity."
_________________
"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.