Remember Fort Hood, and the dangers of political correctness are valuables lessons. General Boykin served our nation bravely, and has the respect of men I respect. There was a passage in his book about the Iran Rescue mission, where he clearly recognized the courage of a USAF airman of Iranian decent who volunteered to go back to Iran in a high risk capacity on behalf of his new country. IMHO that implied to me the General was not the extremist the media portrayed, and the airman is an example of the strength of US diversity. If I was in the area I would go just to hear the General speak. I don't agree with the bulk of Mr. Spencer's views, but they are food for thought.
It is the other two gentlemen Saleem and Shoebat, my question are they truly " highly qualified men". Or were they in fact terrorists any more than the most recent whale turd in the Hall of Shame was an SF officer. If they were ever terrorists why weren't they ever jailed or deported, and then why pay to hear them speak? These two and another individual spoke at the Air Force Academy a few years back,
Quote:
The academy’s inclusion of three men who say they associated with Middle East terrorist groups drew criticism because the men’s message in other venues has been about evangelical Christianity. Critics also question if they were actually terrorists and, if so, why they weren’t jailed or deported.
“This is a disgrace to the academy,” said David Antoon, a 1970 academy grad and a member of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
The foundation was formed amid allegations that arose in 2004 about Christian proselytizing at the academy. The group filed a federal lawsuit last year.
Doug Howard, a professor of Middle East history at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., said he and several other academics have been researching the men since Kamal Saleem spoke at the college last fall.
“We suspect he’s a fraud,” Howard said. Howard said he’s determined Saleem’s real name is Khodor Shami, a Lebanese who immigrated as a student and worked for the Christian Broadcasting Network for 16 years starting in the late 1980s.
He was hired in 2003 at Focus on the Family, Howard said, but Howard didn’t know if he still worked there.
Focus on the Family wasn’t able to say Tuesday whether Saleem does or has worked there.
Howard said Saleem’s theme during the Calvin College appearance was an “old time revival Christian” message.
A Canadian newspaper, The Windsor Star, reported on Jan. 20, 2007, that Anani’s story as told at a Baptist church didn’t add up, according to Tom Quiggin, Canada’s only court-qualified expert on global jihadism and a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police intelligence and national security expert. Quiggin detailed times and places of the story that he said didn’t jibe with historic facts, The Star .
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What are the odds these are just two guys who figured out that reformed former terrorist speaker is a profitable post 9/11 career.
http://www.gazette.com/common/printe...zette&id=32786