Theatre Of The Absurd: House panel to look at radicalization of U.S. Muslims

03-07-2011 • WashingtonTimes.com

Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican, who is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, asserted that al Qaeda terrorists are targeting Muslim youth in this country, previewing his hearing Thursday on the extent of the problem and the Muslim community’s response. “The overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but at this stage in our history there’s an effort … to radicalize elements within the Muslim community,” he said in an interview broadcast Sunday. “It’s there, and that’s where the threat is coming from at this time,” Mr. King said. Taking up Mr. King’s call for a national discussion, the White House sent President Obama’s deputy national security adviser, Denis McDonough, to a Northern Virginia mosque to speak late Sunday at an interfaith gathering about how the administration is dealing with domestic radicalization. “I don’t believe there is sufficient cooperation” by American Muslims with law enforcement, Mr. King said. “Certainly my dealings with the police in New York and FBI and others say they do not believe they get the same — they do not give the level of cooperation that they need.”