Rob extremists of recruiting pool
I spent a little over a year in Iraq, and what the Marines on patrol heard in their daily interactions with the people was often the same question: Why does America hate Muslims? Marines and soldiers patrolling in Afghanistan hear the same thing today.
While you may not feel this sentiment is justified, it is still no less of a real threat to our national security. Terrorist and extremist organizations need a large population who feels persecuted in order to effectively recruit. Today, due to the combination of an incredibly effective extremist propaganda campaign and poorly thought-out messages from our politicians, the Muslim world does feel persecuted by the United States.
If you truly care about our national security, the best thing you can do is welcome a mosque in your neighborhood. Make America a place that young Muslims want to live and you begin to rob the extremist groups of their recruiting pool.
In 2002, Richard Holbrooke famously asked, “How can a man in a cave out-communicate the world’s leading communications society?” This question highlighted our inability to communicate effectively to the Muslim world. Please join me in asking for more from our elected officials.