Excerpt: During his two years in the military, Klawonn said he has filed more than 20 complaints of harassment for being Muslim.
....the enemy within....
I'm going to disagree.
In the Algerian civil war, one of the several reasons why the French lost (other than DeGaulle, feckless leadership and stupidity) was that the French tended to view every brown-skinned person in Algeria as an enemy, and acted accordingly. After a while, most brown-skinned people there were their enemy.
The quickest way to turn all American Muslims into enemies is to treat them as enemies.
If an American of Muslim faith joins our military, he/she is a soldier with exactly the same obligations, responsibilities and rights as any other soldier. Prudence demands that such individuals demonstrate their loyalty to our country, but we expect loyalty from every soldier.
This particular soldier has a valid complaint: he was moved off base for his safety but then was treated poorly. The chain of command should fix that, in part because it's right and in part to demonstrate that loyalty and respect are two-way streets.
This soldier also has a responsibility not just to do his job, but to bear witness to what he believes is his personal faith by demonstrating that a Muslim can be an American soldier. Sometimes that means buttoning your lip and leading by example.
But this man has done nothing to suggest that he's disloyal. Unless and until he does, he has the respect I give to every member of our military. |
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