He promised a change on Islamic terror, but all the change agents are gone. My latest in PJ Media:
Sebastian Gorka is no longer a deputy assistant to President Trump. He said he resigned, but an unnamed White House source contradicted this: “Sebastian Gorka did not resign, but I can confirm he no longer works at the White House.” Either way, however, this is not a good sign for those who hoped that Trump would restore realism about the jihad threat to the nation’s counterterror approach.
In his resignation letter, Gorka said:
[G]iven recent events, it is clear to me that forces that do not support the MAGA promise are — for now — ascendant within the White House. As a result, the best and most effective way I can support you, Mr. President, is from outside the People’s House.
The specific problem was Trump’s apparent retreat from his repeated insistence on speaking about “radical Islamic terrorism” rather than a faceless, amorphous and ideology-free terrorist threat. Gorka continued:
Regrettably, outside of yourself, the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will “Make America Great Again,” have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months. This was made patently obvious as I read the text of your speech on Afghanistan this week.
…
The fact that those who drafted and approved the speech removed any mention of Radical Islam or radical Islamic terrorism proves that a crucial element of your presidential campaign has been lost.
Gorka himself has been known to equivocate on this issue, but he was one of the last, if not the last, member of the Trump administration who was upholding any part of Trump’s campaign promises: to speak honestly about the motivating ideology of the jihad threat; and to reverse the Obama administration’s policy of denial and willful ignorance regarding the motivating ideology behind the global jihad threat.
In 2011, the Obama administration initiated a massive purge of counterterror materials that spoke honestly about the ideological roots of the jihad threat. The Obama administration instead mandated that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies not study Islam. This was a direct result of Muslim groups — many of which had links to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood — demanding the removal of such material.
Those who are committed to protecting us were directed at the highest levels to downplay and deny that Islamic terrorism had anything to do with Islam. Since this is false, that directive has deformed our counterterror response ever since.
But Donald Trump campaigned on the implied promise to change all that. He repeatedly rebuked both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for fearing to speak about “radical Islamic terrorism”; he vowed that he would. Many took this as an indication that he would once again allow law enforcement and intelligence agencies to study and understand the beliefs, motives, and goals of the enemy.
Instead, the people Trump brought into his administration who favored this necessary reform were quickly identified, isolated, and subjected to relentless establishment media smear campaigns. One by one, they left the administration. After the departure of Steve Bannon, Gorka was one of the only ones left.
Now that he is gone, it appears that the proponents of Obama-esque denial and willful ignorance have won the day. Trump may recover, of course, or he may not. But the departure of Gorka, following the earlier departures of Bannon and Michael Flynn, do not bode well for this administration recovering an understanding of the elemental fact that one must know one’s enemy in order to defeat him.
The implications are wider still. Right now, in the context of the Left’s intense ongoing efforts to deny all dissenters any access to the means of communication, the Trump administration’s abandonment of honesty regarding jihad means that soon those who speak honestly about this threat could have no voice at all in the public square.
In the wake of Charlottesville, when the Left began moving aggressively to cut the ground out from under the feet of foes of jihad terror, Jihad Watch received a few thousand dollars in donations, for which I am most grateful. At the same time, the hard-Left smear machine Southern Poverty Law Center received tens of millions to continue its defamation and marginalization of legitimate organizations by lumping them in with the KKK and neo-Nazis….
Read the rest here.
Mairin T says
What a shame to see Dr. Gorka leave the WH. Worse still, the reason. Pres. Trump, if he continues on kid gloving Islam, will loose many of his supporters..
David says
lose: be deprived of or cease to have or retain something.
loose: not firmly or tightly fixed in place.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
We need to tighten up so as to not lose anything more. Gorka was problematic on Islam in that he believes there can be such a thing as radical Islam (cf, Diana West), but he was solid on fighting Moslem aggression regardless of the underlying theory. Maybe he can replace the stupid Marie Harf on the Fox RINO team.
CreatioExNihlio says
It’s all about the Benjamins. Top-down action needed immediately to reign in Google, Amazon and the media.
Les says
Checkout One America News and Newsmax tv. Very refreshing conservative news
BC says
The images of DT dancing with swords in Saudi Arabia told the story. Now he has reached an accommodation with the exporters of the brand of Islam that supports expansion and terrorism he has painted himself into a corner. Perhaps he though he could get them to change, but this is naive to say the least.
In fact he has given them confidence to increase their activities
Adrian says
again with the “anonymous sources”…
president Trump is no dummy and I believe there are perhaps better ways Gorka can serve the cause outside the White House… have some faith, doubting Thomases…
David says
Amen
Wellington says
I too think that Trump is no dummy, far from it in fact, but I also think he does not have enough pure knowledge of Islam and those now advising him (e.g., McMaster) on anything related to the Islamic world could pretty much just as well fit into the previous Obama Administration with no real difficulty. So, there is a problem here and it has grown over the past month or two a significant amount. Right now things are now looking up but down.
Wellington says
……”are not looking up but down.” Second mistake today. I need another cup of coffee.
gravenimage says
Agreed, Wellington.
Vann Boseman says
This is true and saddening to me. I gave Trump more credit than he deserved for understanding Islam. I not only voted for Trump but spoke out often in his favor concerning two issues, what I perceived as a relatively good knowledge of Islam and his determination to curtail illegal immigration. I was optimistic otherwise only in that he was not downright evil like his opponent was. I always knew he was subject to change his mind more than a typical politician but believed he had a strong enough foundation and background concerning Islam that he would not make the mistakes he has made recently.
Les says
I might add another thought and that is we know Trump has a brilliant mind. Trump may be creating a diversion getting rid of Bannon and Gorka while pursuing a passive aggressive approach to riding us of muslimes
Robert says
Let’s hope so.
Mairin T says
From what I have learned about Sebastian Gorka, I believe, as you said, he can still do well for Pres. Trump outside WH Admin, however his departure from the WH does cast a shadow on the route being taken by Pres. Trump with many of the “good guys” moving out and onwards. Islam will not be subdued with sweet sponge cake. It is a raw and vicious crowd culture with many individual cowards at heart. the President cannot afford to look soft or listen to the backroom boys who do not have the American nation at heart. The old Obama undermining and excoriation of America does not yet appear to have been exorcised.
Walter Sieruk says
Dr Sebastian Gorka in his book DEFEATING JIHAD did advise Americans to remain vigilante regarding the threat of Islamic terrorism . This must mean for individual Americans not only to stay informed on this topic but ,maybe , to be aware of our surroundings and report an appropriate person anything that look suspicious. As for example the tee-shirt vendor in NY,NY who saw some smoke out out of a packed van and then he went and told a police officers about it. .As it has been said “If you see something say something.”
Furthermore,Dr. Gorka in his same book DEFEATING JIHAD explained about the jihadist –Muslims on page 132 which reads “The enemy’s center of gravity is ideology of holy war against the infidel…”
This is, of course, the ideology of Islam jihad [Islamic terrorism] in which the jihadists are in this war against us for the victory of Islam over us.
PRCS says
Walter,
IMO, use of the term “Islamic terrorism” is one of the reasons our “unbelieving” friends and neighbors just “don’t get it” re: Islam.
Islamics don’t carry out acts of terrorism (per Islamic law), Muslims do.
In a twitter post, Gorka defined our Saudi “allies” as “the good Muslims”.
My two cents.
Sam says
So what is the fight strategy against ISLAM? ANYONE?
PRCS says
Step #1—No more diversionary euphemisms for written, Orthodox Islam.
I don’t have stats, but how many of our “filthy kuffar” friends and neighbors have bought into the “radical” Islam myth?
Joe says
Condemning Islam and Muslims is the first step. Until then every war is just shadow fighting.
aVoice says
Sam, may I answer please….as for me and my house we trust in, rely on and cling to the Messiah of Israel, HE is Yeshua of Nazareth the Messiah; we are in the words of Scripture “born from above” John 3:3 and in Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. So, I love Israel and the Jewish people and walk with HIM.
Charles says
It all boils down to the inescapable fact that we are cursed with an addiction to a vital resource that is not “produced”, but is extracted from non-renewable reserves. We discovered these resources in the Persian Gulf, and after a century of relations, we are now inextricably tied to a group of financial, theocratic superpowers as allies. We are absolute faithful strategic allies, in both military and economic interests. Juxtaposed that allegiance to a massive chasm of ideological differences. Our constitutional causes, including freedom of expression, are in a war with a religion that exhorts its votaries to make perpetual war with disbelief. Economic survival in the modern world depends on control of petroleum resources. In the conflict between principle and economic strength, if we choose the latter, then we are more and more subject to protect the ideological narrative of our ironic ally, and abandon our own. Our officers in charge now remove the leather collars from the necks of our marines, because we want to pretend that the Wootz Steel sword emblazoned on the iconography of the Muslim Brotherhood logo, and many many flags, does not exist.
gravenimage says
The West is producing more petroleum than ever, and resources like solar power and biomass are becoming more practical. California now gets 10% of her electrical power from solar, and that could go way up.
No need to bow to Muslim barbarians.
Brian Hoff says
Oil have the highest amount of chemicial energy per kilogram or liters. Than jet engine can burn any liquid or gas as fuel in ww2 the me 262 jet fighter burn than liquid like was fuel as gaselino was hard to get. Pine cone can be turn into than alchol fuel to power car without useing corn to make alchol. It take more alchol to power the car the engine will have to be total rebuild to handle alchol as than fuel. Fuel cell power car will sell for more than 1 000 000 dollars afther mass production.You would need than 80 year loan to buy it.
They makeing than breakthought in fusion power by useing small amoun of He3 mix with H2 and H3 gases it will take it we are luckly 10 year before we commercial fusion power one problem it the only fuel is He3 which is very very rare on earth will be the bottleneck. The lunar dust have He3 alone with He4 captured from the solar wind. It Saudi Arabia colonize the moon they can sell He3 for about 100 000 dollar per kilogram. On earth He3 go for 1 000 000 dollar per kilogram. You in theory mine He3 from large gas gainst in our solar system atmosphere.
Jack Diamond says
Yes, Saudi Arabia will colonize the moon.
Please be the first on their spaceship Brian Hoff.
Sim says
Moving inside the Washington Beltway is like moving to a foreign country, you can’t speak the language, you know nothing about the culture, and your views of the world is different than theirs,
but in time you learn to adapt, slowly blending in until the person who moved there is no longer the same person, but one that has changed to conform to their new environment, especially in their former views of the world they had prior to moving.
Some may recognize the changes in themselves, some don’t, but with the persuasion of Washington the change is quickly forgotten and accepted.
I’m afraid that in happening to Trump, and he doesn’t recognize it,
McMaster, (Security Advisor) is crafting Trump’s agenda to match that of Obama’s in refusing to label Radical Islam and radical Islamic as terrorism.
I expect, as time goes on, we’re going to see Trump make decisions more in line with the Washington view than that of his supporters who live outside the beltway.
A “wise man” once said, “Know thyself”,
because believing a lie and being damned occurs not only in this life but in the life to come as well.
Every time “Truth” is rejected, a lie is created.
PRCS says
“Radical Islam and radical Islamic as terrorism”
My friend, no Muslim on the planet is a follower or practitioner of “radical” Islam, because there’s no such thing. There is Islam. That’s what Muslims practice. Some more “religiously” than others.
And in keeping with your note, “Every time “Truth” is rejected, a lie is created”, the notion of “radical Islamic terrorism” is one of those lies.
aVoice says
Well spoken and entirely accurate!
Angus says
A harsh reality to face:
Trump is only ONE man fighting against an entrenched, bloated, corrupt, greedy & evil establishment that would like to see him impeached or worse so they can get back to fleecing hard working Americans for their own personal gain.
He is surrounded by career politicians who are blocking his policies at every turn and are often breaking the law to do so.
How can he possibly get ANYTHING done is this environment?
It will take Trump 2 full terms as president to drain the swamp by any measurable amount.
gravenimage says
I worry that that swamp is draining Trump…
steve brown says
The only way to defeat the global jihadists is to put them out of business by nuking; Iran, all Persian Gulf Oil wells and Refineries and freezing the global assists of all upper echelon sharia law devotee jihadists . This is how Michael Corleone and Don Vito Corleone of the Godfather would handle the situation. Of course, the Sicilians would have to take care of some other business both domestically and abroad. However, the victorious resolution to the Radical Islamic global Jihad war that is happening now would be strictly a matter of business. Before the aforementioned could be implemented a special negotiator will have to convince the leaders of the non Sharia Law world that any and all short term monetary benefits from dealing with the Devotees of sharia law will vanish when, not if, the sharia law devotees stab them and their descendants in the back like they did for the past 1,400 years .
gravenimage says
The Mafia is in party a legacy of the Muslim occupation of Sicily. The idea that organized crime is the answer is very questionable.
Jack Diamond says
The Corleones are characters of fiction. The real Godfather was a guy like Meyer Lansky. He couldn’t even handle Castro. Why not just bring back the Mongols? The Mongol invasions led by Hulagu Khan were intended to destroy Islam once and for all. Khan hated Islam. The Mongols very nearly succeeded, if anything they exceeded the Muslims in ruthlessness and in their delight in slaughter. Yes, the Mongols put the fear into the Muslims, to this day.
Or could we not, maybe, defeat, roll back, Islam and yet retain some measure of what some of us call Western Civilization with its marvelous discovery of Freedom, instead? Not to be Mongolophobic about it….
steve brown says
The only way to defeat the global jihadists is to put them out of business by nuking; Iran, all Persian Gulf Oil wells and Refineries, **** and all Saudi Arabian Gulf Sea Ports , and freezing the global assists of all upper echelon sharia law devotee jihadists . This is how Michael Corleone and Don Vito Corleone of the Godfather would handle the situation. Of course, the Sicilians would have to take care of some other business both domestically and abroad. However, the victorious resolution to the Radical Islamic global Jihad war that is happening now would be strictly a matter of business. Before the aforementioned could be implemented a special negotiator will have to convince the leaders of the non Sharia Law world that any and all short term monetary benefits from dealing with the Devotees of sharia law will vanish when, not if, the sharia law devotees stab them and their descendants in the back like they did for the past 1,400 years .
mortimer says
What is “RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM”?
Answer: The official Wahhabist ideology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
PRCS says
And that makes it “radical”, how, exactly?
Jack Diamond says
and what does that make the ideology of the Islamic Republic of Iran?
But how is “Wahhabism” a distinct thing from the Hanbali school of jurisprudence and how is the Hanbali school distinct from the Hanafi, Maliki, or Shafi’i schools regarding what most concerns infidels about Islam? how is the school something distinct from the Islam of the Qur’an and Sunnah and consensus of Islamic scholars in general, or what we know about the life and deeds of Muhammad and his companions, “the best of Muslims”?
Or what Khomeini taught about Islam and its mission?
If the “extremists” are really the orthodox, doesn’t that make the moderates the “radicals”?
Assuming their radicalism isn’t performance art? Neo-Muslim performance artists, fata morgana Muslims, Muslims who just to “have some sandwiches” (Ben Affleck)…Radical Islamic Lunch Picnickers.
Rich says
Trump regime is loaded with CNP, not to forget that Donald loves the CFR…
Where did Gorka come from? whats his background?