American Conservatives seem to actively seek out opportunities to try and insert a wedge between President Obama and our allies. No, it’s not just the American voters. They often start conversations with anecdotes about how the President has deferred to our enemies, and dissed our friends. The current meme revolves around the President not going to Paris last weekend to attend the Unity Rally.
Of course, had he attended, critics would have
insisted it was just a glorified photo-op.
But that’s beside the point. In
fact President Obama has actually conceded, the Administration should have been
represented. At least his humility is in
tact.
It’s harder to reach that conclusion about some
of the Conservatives. One such
hardliner, Steven Emerson, a supposed “Internationally recognized expert on terrorism and national
security,” recently said on Fox News, “In Britain, it’s not just no-go zones,
there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim where
non-Muslims just simply don’t go in.”
Now that is a
bold and bodacious claim in its own right.
But Mr. Emerson did not stop there.
He further stated, in “parts of London, there are actual religious
police that actually beat and actually wound seriously anyone who doesn’t dress
according to religious Muslim attire.”
London, of course, is the Capital and largest
city in England and the United Kingdom, with a population of over nine million
people; Birmingham is the second largest city, with over one million
residents. For a Conservative, there is
a certain irony that Mr. Emerson takes such liberal license when purportedly
dispensing facts. In this case, his
commentary went viral, and resulted in a deluge of Twitter mockery employing
the hashtag #foxnewsfacts.
In response to the wave of protest and dissent,
including that of British Prime Minister, David Cameron (More on the Prime
Minister’s reaction momentarily) Mr. Emerson recanted. Well, sort of. He said, “I am issuing an apology and correction on my website
immediately, for having made this comment about the beautiful city of
Birmingham.” And with that, he did
apologize. He simply didn’t take the
story down on his website. SMH!
Back to David
Cameron, who had this to say: “When I heard this, frankly, I choked on my
porridge and I thought it must be April Fool’s Day,” adding, “This guy is
clearly a complete idiot.”
In a different
interview, Gisela Stuart, who represents Birmingham in the House of Commons, added,
“I checked whether this was some kind of early April Fool spoof, and then I
thought he was talking about Birmingham, Alabama. But then I realized he was
just utterly and completely wrong.”
The reality is
Birmingham’s Muslim population is 22%. Not 100%, or 80%, or even 50%. There are plenty of non-Muslims who live in,
and go to, the city every day. There is also no such thing as “Muslim religious
police” – in London, Birmingham, or any other part of the UK – beating anyone. Go figure.
When you are considered an “Internationally recognized expert on
terrorism and national security,” you likely have numerous opportunities to
weigh in on the subject. It appears Mr.
Emerson has had his share. In that
regard, paraphrasing Country Music singer Vern Gosdin, “This Was Not His First
Rodeo.”
In 1995, Mr.
Emerson had this to say: “Oklahoma City, I can tell you, is probably considered
one of the largest centers of Islamic radical activity outside the Middle
East.” He made this bold assertion just
after the Oklahoma City Bombing…and just before anti-government radical Timothy
McVeigh was arrested for it. Oops!
Even in a
world with no more elections, President Obama, faced with Birthers,
bellyachers, and would be blockers, on a daily basis, is unlikely to
characterize any of his detractors in such direct, even if accurate,
terms. Alas, here is one instance in
which a bona fide ally has communicated with unequivocal candor the lack of
intellectual heft and veracity associated this specific conservative’s argument
and logic. British Prime Minister: Fox Pundit "A Complete Idiot!” If you’ll allow me to channel President Obama
for a moment, I imagine he is at least thinking, “Long live David Cameron.”
I’m done; holla back!
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