McCain and Obama: Their Stand on Islamic Jihad and Terrorism

FROM ACT FOR AMERICA

The research we did on the positions of John McCain and Barack Obama regarding the causes of Islamic terrorism and how we should deal with alleged terrorists uncovered significant differences between the two candidates. These differences have either been ignored by most in the media or have been lost in the understandable wall-to-wall coverage of the economic calamity facing us.

For this reason we want to make sure that every ACT! for America member has had a chance to read and forward this research to everyone you know. What you will find below is posted on the ACT! for America voter guide section of our website, which you can access by clicking here.

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The Views and Positions of John McCain and Barack Obama

http://www.actforamerica.org/index.php/learn/voter-guide/350

Both the John McCain and Barack Obama campaigns refused to respond to the ACT! for America candidate questionnaire. In lieu of that, ACT! for America has conducted extensive research that has enabled us to determine the views and positions of both candidates on the broad issue of “terrorism.”

The ACT! for America research on the broad issue of terrorism focused on the two candidates’ positions on the causes of terrorism and how to define the threat. This is very important because how one views and defines the threat is fundamental to how one will handle and respond to the threat. The ACT! for America research uncovered some striking differences between Senator Obama and Senator McCain on this.

The research for each candidate is comprised of quotes sourced from various published reports and ACT! for America comments.

John McCain

New York Post column 9/11/2008

“The divide starts with the question: Why was America attacked?

McCain's answer is simple (or, as Obama might suggest, simplistic): The United States was attacked because a resurgent Islam has produced a radicalism that dreams of world conquest and sees America as the enemy. [Emphasis added]

McCain doesn't hesitate to acknowledge that his country is engaged in a Global War on Terror. He doesn't believe that 9/11 might've been prompted by some wrong America did to others. To him, the nation was an innocent victim of "Islamic terrorism."

McCain asserts, "America faces a dedicated, focused and intelligent foe in the War on Terrorism. This enemy will probe to find America's weaknesses and strike against them. The United States cannot afford to be complacent about the threat, naive about terrorist intentions, unrealistic about their capabilities, or ignorant to our national vulnerabilities."

ACT! for America Comment

While John McCain has at times expressed his concern for America’s national image due to allegations of torture of suspected terrorist detainees, the column above is consistent with McCain’s stated position on the root cause of terrorism. For instance, McCain labels the principal terrorist threat to the world as “radical Islamic terrorism.” See the following article.

Washington Times, April 21, 2008

“A coalition of American Muslim groups is demanding that Sen. John McCain stop using the adjective "Islamic" to describe terrorists and extremist enemies of the United States.

Muneer Fareed, who heads the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), told The Washington Times that his group is beginning a campaign to persuade Mr. McCain to rephrase his descriptions of the enemy.

"We've tried to contact his office, contact his spokesperson to have them rethink word usage that is more acceptable to the Muslim community," Mr. Fareed said. "If it's not our intent to paint everyone with the same brush, then certainly we should think seriously about just characterizing them as criminals, because that is what they are."

An aide to Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who is counting on his pro-Iraq war stance to attract conservative voters, said the senator from Arizona will not drop the word.

Steve Schmidt, a former Bush White House aide who is now a McCain media strategist, told The Times that the use of the word is appropriate and that the candidate will continue to define the enemy that way…

… Mr. McCain, an ex-Navy fighter pilot and leading hawk on the Iraq war, regularly uses the term "Islamic" in major foreign-policy speeches and in news conferences.

In a speech last month to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Mr. McCain said the formation of an international coalition "will strengthen us to confront the transcendent challenge of our time: the threat of radical Islamic terrorism." [Emphasis added]

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE

A Voter's Letter to McCain

John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118
Arlington, VA 22215


Dear McCain Campaign:


I put a buck in this envelope so someone would actually read this letter. I e-mailed your site, but doubt if anyone will bother to read it or mention it.

You want to defeat Obama? Start by:

1) Making Mitt Romney your Vice President

2) You better get right with the religious folks.

3) STOP running the ad linking Obama with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. While it’s absolutely correct, the press has so warped the American public, that this ad is not going to be effective.

4) Instead, run ads which clearly show the lies and half-truths the press has covered up for Obama

a) he refused to meet with real soldiers in Afghanistan, just the brass

b) the 200,000 German people who were at his “rally” were actually there for a free rock concert – that’s why the press won’t show you footage

c) hammer on the higher taxes Obama wants versus McCain. Show how those higher taxes will affect us – especially gas taxes

d) hammer on how he opposes offshore drilling and tie in gas taxes. Obama’s so dumb, he thinks if we air up our tires more we won’t need off-shore oil

e) hammer on the fact that Obama doesn’t support voucher schools, yet he spends $40,000 a year to send his children to private schools

f) hammer on the fact that Obama has 143 days of public service yet he wants to lead the greatest country in the world, while McCain has many thousands of hours of public service

g) hammer on the fact that Obama and his racist wife think that “finally” they have some pride in America while McCain spent years in a POW cage in Viet Nam and then came back and devoted his life to public service.

h) instead of celebrating diversity of races and ethnic backgrounds, why the heck don’t we CELEBRATE UNITY. Wow! What a concept!


5) If you really want effective campaign ads, you should use humor WAY MORE than negative ads. Humor makes one seem personable, approachable, and real. Especially if it’s gentle, self-deprecating humor. Remember when Ronald Reagan really took the wind out of his opponent’s sails about the age issue when he said he wouldn’t hold his opponent’s youth and lack of experience against him.

Another example is Bob Dole’s candidacy. For some reason, his handlers wanted to portray him as serious and dedicated. What came across was the image of a dour, lemon-sucking person who hadn’t had a bowel movement in months. Too bad, because evidently Bob Dole was a nice and really likeable guy who could have done a good job.


6) And answer me this: Why does everyone think a racist is someone who is white and lives below the Mason-Dixon Line or in Northern Idaho? Obama and his wife are two of the biggest racists I’ve ever seen. Read his book! Read her thesis!


7) It would be nice if all you RINOs would stand together. As far as I can see, the RNC is only interested in one thing -- raising money. If there is a platform of any type, it’s hidden. Every Republican candidate has a different take on things. So why aren’t you Republicans UNITED? Why didn’t the Republicans in Congress refuse to vote for a recess and stay around DC until the energy bill got brought to the floor? C’mon! You RINOs (and especially the long-term representatives and senators) are smart enough to come up with more than one way to outwit Pelosi and her band of thieves. Or are you all just not that bright? Think about it!


8) why can’t you RINOs get together and CELEBRATE UNITY instead of being so diverse? You’re so busy spreading yourselves thin trying to address every different ethnic group you are losing sight of the greatness of unity. Why do you think so many people try to get to America? It’s a great place! No one is trying to emigrate to China, or Sri Lanka, or Peru, or Rwanda.


9) By the way, I’m tired of being ignored because I’m Caucasian, I live here legally, I’m a small business owner, and I pay my taxes.


You don’t have to pay attention to me. I’m just your normal average conservative voter who is so pissed off that McCain got the Republican nod, that I wasn’t even going to VOTE until Obama got the Democratic nod.

DON’T BOTHER TO ASK ME FOR MORE MONEY. I’m too busy trying to convince other pissed off conservative voters to vote for McCain. They don’t like McCain either, but would rather LEAVE America rather than vote for a Muslim racist.


Vicki

Known Hizballah Agent demands apology from McCain

From Robert Spencer's www.jihadwatch.com May 6, 2008

Michigan: Muslim community leader wants apology from McCain after being dropped from finance committee over alleged Hizballah ties
"Jawad said he was not forced into resigning. He asked to be removed from the committee after receiving two calls from the McCain campaign inquiring about the allegations and questioning his integrity and loyalty to this country."

Why not answer the questions? This story gives little detail about the nature of Ali Jawad's connection to Hizballah, but a wealth of information can be found at Debbie Schlussel's site http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2008/05/the_real_ali_ja.html. A few highlights:

Ali Jawad and his company, Armada Oil, were convicted of insurance and mail fraud in federal court and ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution and fines. Michael Mustapha Makki, Jawad's co-defendant--also convicted--in the case, USA v. Makki et al, is a member of the Makki family, many members of which were convicted of cigarette smuggling for Hezbollah. [...]
Jawad isn't shy about his support for Hezbollah. He defended Ali and Mohamed "Mike" Boumelhem, when they were caught by U.S. Customs agents trying to smuggle weapons to Canada and ultimately to Hezbollah. And he told The Detroit News that the terrorist group, which murdered more Americans than any other besides Al-Qaeda, isn't a terrorist group: 'Killing innocent people -- we reject that. Hezbollah does not fit this category. It has protected its people'.

Jawad is known as one of the most important agents of Hezbollah in the U.S. He is related (through his brother's marriage into the Safieddine family) to Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and the man Iran has designated as Nasrallah's heir apparent, Hachem Safieddine (currently a member of the 7-member Hezbollah ruling council, the Shurah Al-Karar). The Jawad and Safieddine families have many business dealings together. Both Ali Jawad and the Safieddines own many gas stations throughout the Detroit area. Armada Oil--of which Jawad is CEO--also distributes gas to gas stations throughout the Detroit area.There is much more at Schlussel's website: http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2008/05/the_real_ali_ja.html

Now, can you see where this might make the McCain campaign a bit uncomfortable? It's a little hard to look tough on national security with a person with so many unanswered questions about his own standing with respect to national security serving on one's state campaign finance committee. And the fact that Jawad's background was not cleared or investigated beforehand by any prior campaign or by the party is also a political liability.
"Arab-American leader wants McCain's apology," from the Associated Press, May 6:


DEARBORN, Michigan - Arab- and Muslim-American leaders said Monday they want John McCain's campaign to apologize for severing ties with an Arab-American businessman serving on the Republican presidential candidate's Michigan finance committee.
Ali Jawad, founder of the Lebanese American Heritage Club, was listed with five other finance committee members on an invitation to a $2,300-per-person (Ð1,490) fundraising dinner McCain plans to attend Tuesday in Oakland County.

Jawad and his supporters said during a news conference that he was asked to resign from the committee after Michigan blogger Debbie Schlussel wrote that he had ties to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. They said her comments they said were based on rumor and innuendo.

Note that the previous paragraph and the first paragraph contradict the final paragraph below.

We do not want a president who makes a decision ... based on false information,' said Osama Siblani, president of the Arab American Political Action Committee and publisher of the Arab American News. This is an insult to every Arab-American and Muslim-American in the country.'

Requests for comment were left Monday afternoon with the McCain campaign.

Besides an apology, Siblani said Jawad's supporters also want McCain to ask the businessman to rejoin the finance committee. Jawad said it would be premature to say whether he would accept such a request.

Jawad told The Associated Press Monday evening that the accusations by Schlussel were false, including any links to Hezbollah. On one particular trip to Lebanon, he said, he met with the U.S. ambassador, who arranged all his appointments with the president and members of parliament.

This is our country by choice,' he said. We're patriotic Americans, as much as anyone else.'

McCain plans to be in Michigan for Tuesday's fundraiser and plans to hold a town hall meeting with supporters Wednesday morning at a local university. There are over 300,000 people in southeast Michigan who trace their roots to the Middle East.

Monday's news conference was held at the Lebanese American Heritage Club in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb widely considered to be the center of Arab America.

Jawad is president of Dearborn-based Armada Oil and Gas Co. He moved to the United States in 1976. A Republican, he said he has contributed to Republican candidates as well as Democrats such as Michigan Sen. Carl Levin.

Schlussel said among her concerns about Jawad were two federal cases involving him and his company: He was convicted in 1997 in U.S. District Court in Detroit for insurance fraud and sentenced to probation. His company was convicted the same year of mail fraud and was ordered to pay more than $250,000 in fines and restitution.
She also alleges that he has met with Hezbollah leaders and Hezbollah-allied members of the Lebanese parliament on two trips to Lebanon.

John McCain did the right thing by asking Ali Jawad to leave,' she said.

For his part, Jawad said he was not forced into resigning. He asked to be removed from the committee after receiving two calls from the McCain campaign inquiring about the allegations and questioning his integrity and loyalty to this country.'