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Thursday, November 19, 2015

Cowards, Maniacs or Warriors

“It is He Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth, to make it superior over all religions, though the Mushrikûn (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah” - Quran, Sura 9:33

Sura 9:33, simply put, predicts the conquest of Islam over all religions. Islam must dominate the world through jihad.

"He who fights that Allah’s word be superior is in Allah’s cause" – The Hadith

The Hadith are the collections of the reports claiming to quote what the prophet Muhammad said verbatim on any matter. The term comes from the Arabic meaning "report", "account" or "narrative". Hadiths are second only to the Quran in developing Islamic jurisprudence, and regarded as important tools for understanding the Quran and commentaries on it. Many important elements of traditional Islam such as five salat prayers, the abhorrence of paintings and sculpture of living things, stoning adulterers, are mentioned in hadith but not the Quran.

In Islam, Muhammad is considered al-insan al-kamil (the "ideal man"). Muhammad is in no way considered divine, nor is he worshipped (no image of Muhammad is permitted lest it encourage idolatry), but he is the model par excellence for all Muslims in how they should conduct themselves.

It is through Muhammad's personal teachings and actions — which make up the "way of the Prophet," the Sunnah — that Muslims discern what is a good and holy life. Details about the Prophet — how he lived, what he did, his non-Quranic utterances, his personal habits — are indispensable knowledge for any faithful Muslim.

Knowledge of the Sunnah comes primarily from the hadiths ("reports") about Muhammad's life, which were passed down orally until codified in the eighth century AD, some hundred years after Muhammad's death.

The Hadiths comprise the most important body of Islamic texts after the Quran; they are basically a collection of anecdotes about Muhammad's life believed to have originated with those who knew him personally. (Click here for more information regarding the Hadith)

Jihad is an Islamic term referring to the religious duty of Muslims to maintain the religion. In Arabic, the word jihād is a noun meaning "to strive, to apply oneself, to struggle, to persevere". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid, the plural of which is mujahideen). The word jihad appears frequently in the Quran, often in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)", to refer to the act of striving to serve the purposes of God on this earth.

Muslims and scholars do not all agree on its definition. Many observers—both Muslim and non-Muslim—as well as the Dictionary of Islam, talk of jihad having two meanings: an inner spiritual struggle (the "greater jihad"), and an outer physical struggle against the enemies of Islam (the "lesser jihad") which may take a violent or non-violent form. Jihad is often translated as "Holy War", although this term is controversial. According to "Orientalist" (historian of the Middle East) Bernard Lewis, "the overwhelming majority of classical theologians, jurists", and specialists in the Hadith "understood the obligation of jihad in a military sense."Javed Ahmad Ghamidi states that there is consensus among Islamic scholars that the concept of jihad will always include armed struggle against wrong doers.

It was generally supposed that the order for a general war could only be given by the Caliph (an office that was claimed by the Ottoman sultans), butMuhammad_Ahmad_al-Mahdi Muslims who did not acknowledge the spiritual authority of the Caliphate (which has been vacant since 1923)—such as non-Sunnis and non-Ottoman Muslim states—always looked to their own rulers for the proclamation of a jihad. There has been in fact no universal warfare by Muslims on non-believers since the early caliphate. Some proclaimed jihad by claiming themselves as Mahdi, e.g. the Sudanese Muhammad Ahmad in 1882 (Fall of Khartoum). In classical Islam, the military form of jihad was also regulated to protect civilians [Source: Wikipedia]

(Note: The Sunnis view the Mahdi as the successor of Muhammad, but, unlike most Shia Muslims, do not believe the Mahdi has already been born. The Mahdi is expected to arrive to rule the world and to reestablish righteousness.)

The primary aim of jihad as warfare is not the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam by force, but rather the expansion and defense of the Islamic state. In theory, jihad was to continue until "all mankind either embraced Islam or submitted to the authority of the Muslim state." There could be truces before this was achieved, but no permanent peace. One who died 'on the path of God' was a martyr, (Shahid), whose sins were remitted and who was secured "immediate entry to paradise.

All of the above shows the complexity of Islam and the differing interpretations by scholars over the years. There are many sects of Islam and they have been fighting and killing each other since the 7th century:

Although Sunnis make up the majority of Muslims, not every Muslim belongs to the same Islamic sect. A Muslim's Islamic beliefs may take one of these forms:

Sunni Muslims include 84%–90% of all Muslims. Sunni means “tradition,” and Sunnis regard themselves as those who emphasize following the traditions of Muhammad and of the first two generations of the community of Muslims that followed Muhammad.

A number of movements to reform Islam have originated mainly in the 20th century. Some are limited to one country and others have a broader influence. Most are Sunni movements, such as the Wahhabis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Jama`at-i-Islami.

Shi`ite Muslims comprise 10%–16% of all Muslims. Shi`ites are the “party of `Ali,” who believe that Muhammad’s son-in-law `Ali was his designated successor (imam) and that the Muslim community should be headed by a designated descendent of Muhammad. Three main subgroups of Shi`ites are Twelvers (Ithna-`Asharis), Seveners (Isma`ilis), and Fivers (Zaydis).

Sufis are Islamic mystics. Sufis go beyond external requirements of the religion to seek a personal experience of God through forms of meditation and spiritual growth. A number of Sufi orders, comparable to Christian monastic orders, exist. Most Sufis are also Sunni Muslims, although some are Shi`ite Muslims. Many conservative Sunni Muslims regard Sufism as a corruption of Islam, although most still regard Sufis as Muslims.

Bahai and Ahmadiyyas are 19th-century offshoots of Shi`ite and Sunni Islam, respectively. Bahai’s consider themselves the newest of the major world’s religions but recognize that historically they originated from Shi`ite Islam in the same way that Christianity originated from Judaism. Ahmadiyyas do regard themselves as Muslims. Most other Muslims, however, deny that either group is a legitimate form of Islam and regard members of both groups as heretics — people who have corrupted and abandoned Islamic belief and practice.

Druze, Alevis, and `Alawis are small, sectarian groups with unorthodox beliefs and practices that split off from Islam. Druze and Alevis do not regard themselves as Muslims and are not considered Muslims by other Muslims. `Alawis have various non-Islamic practices, but debate continues as to whether they should still be considered Muslims.

With 1.6 billion people in the world who claim Islam as their faith it is the small sect of Sunnis and some Shi`ites we should be focused on. Iran is a Shiite dominated nation. They are the world’s leading sponsor or terrorism by providing monetary and material support for Hezbollah – a Shi`ite Muslim organization. Hezbollah is often at odds with other Muslim terrorist groups.

Those loyal to the Sunni branch of Islam are by far the largest and most aggressive terrorist organizations. They are comprised of those pledging featly to the likes of The Muslim Brotherhood, Wahhabism, Salafism, and Hamas. These groups are large in numbers and get their monetary and material support from the Sunni Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. Osama bin Laden was loyal to Wahhabism. Hamas’ main concern is the fight with Israel.

The latest coordinated attacks in Paris where 100 people lost their lives and 151118195105-was-paris-attacks-ringleader-at-apartment-raided-by-authorities-amanpour-pkg-erin-00001513-large-169300 were injured, some critical, were carried out by well trained and armed Jihadis. They were not cowards and maniacs as many in the media are calling them. They were dedicated Radical Islamists believing in the tenets of the Muslim Brotherhood, Wahhabism, and Salafism. In essence they believed themselves to be warriors for Allah. James Holmes, the person who shot up the theater in Aurora, Colorado and Adam Lanza the Sandy Hook shooter were maniacs. They were lone wolf disturbed individuals who had no ideological alliances. They just wanted to make a statement by killing innocent, defenseless people.

Like the Japanese Kamikaze pilots of World War II when they volunteered to fly their planes into U.S. warships during the battles for Saipan and Okinawa. They were not maniacs or cowards. They were willing to die for their emperor. By our western standards were could not understand their motives so we deemed them lunatics. Zealots yes, but not lunatics. These pilots had definite targets in mind. They knew their mission and were ready to die for it.

The Radical Islamist terrorists of today are in the same class as theMugshot_of_Abu_Bakr_al-Baghdadi,_2004 Japanese pilots. They are warriors ready to die for Allah. They carry out well planned missions like the 19 pilots who rammed their hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As were the Pakistanis perpetrating the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The recent Paris attackers were of the same breed. They were supported by one of the above mentioned radical Islamist sects. They believed they were doing Allah’s work. Some were trained and sponsored by ISIL under the direction of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi its leader.

ISIL is a Wahhabi/Salafi jihadist extremist militant group, self-proclaimed to be a caliphate and Islamic state. Unlike bin Laden’s al Qaeda who had to exist in Afghanistan under the auspices of the Taliban ISIL is a caliphate. They occupy territory in Iraq and Syria. They have training grounds, money, captured military weapons, including tanks, cyber networks, and dedicated leadership and soldiers. They can print passports and send their soldiers anywhere in the world they wish. Many of these soldiers travel as refugees seeking asylum from western nations including the United States.

They advertise for recruits from western nations through their publications and the Internet. Young, disaffected Muslims (including women) surreptitiously travel to the ISIL caliphate for training and a mission. That mission usually pertains to the nation they are citizens of or where theyFaisal-Mohammad came from. According to Jihad Watch in the past 18 months 66 Muslims have been charged with Islamic State plots in U.S. Many of these people charged do make the news. Faisal Mohammad the student who went on a stabbing spree at the University of California at Merced was one of those young Muslim youths influenced by ISIL propaganda. While deemed a mentally ill lone wolf by the media and UCM despite the fact that Mohammad “was found to have an image of the ISIS flag, a handwritten manifesto with instructions on how to behead someone, and reminders to pray to Allah,” everyone who participated was sure that his stabbings had something to do with “images of masculinity” and nothing to do with Islam, and that only “Islamophobes” thought otherwise. This is no surprise. The University of California Merced is no different from any other campus all over the country: full of indoctrinated bots who have been thoroughly imbued with the notion that when Islamic jihadists attack us, it is our fault. This is an example of how political correctness will get people killed. This what the French thought even after the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January. It took last week’s attack to finally mobilize the French and Belgian security and intelligence forces to begin rounding up those suspected of jihad.

This week the Honduran authorities arrested five Syrians intending to make it to the United States with stolen Greek passports, triggering alarm Wednesday in the wake of the Paris attacks launched by Syria-linked jihadists.

The Syrians were arrested on Tuesday as they flew into Toncontin airportHonduras-arrest-Syrians-stolen-passports serving the Honduran capital and failed to make it past airport security checks, a police spokesman, Anibal Baca, told reporters.

“Five Syrian citizens have been detained and will be taken to our offices to be investigated because it is suspected they are carrying false documents, passports stolen in Greece,” Baca said.

Were these trained jihad soldiers making their way to the United States to form a terrorist cell or just a few Syrian refugees trying to get into the United States. If they were refugees where were their wives and children, if any?

Now ISIL is threatening attacks in Washington, D.C. and New York’s Times Square. While these attacks may be possible to me they are doubtful. Both of these places are hard targets. As demonstrated in Paris these jihadis go after soft targets. Their cells are not large enough or equipped with heavy weapons to assault hard, well-guarded hard targets. In my view they will go after soft targets such as shopping malls and theaters.

Shopping malls and darkened theaters are soft targets. They usually are not protected by armed guards. They are in most cases designated as “Gun Free” zones. For a moment think of malls like The Mall of America in Minnesota, South Coast Plaza in affluent Orange County, California, or Clackamas Town Center in Oregon. These are very large malls with parking spaces for well over 6,000 cars. They also have parking structures. On Black Friday they will filled to capacity – well over 10,000 shoppers.

Now you take an Islamic terrorist cell of three or four persons armed with AK-filepicker-OBtA3XbSQRmxnS3tRIjG_AK4747s – there favorite weapon of choice. In 6 or 7 minutes, the minimum time it would take armed law enforcement officers to arrive on scene, the terrorists could kill and wound upwards of 200 people spraying 7.62 rounds at 600 rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of 2,300 feet per second around the mall from differing positions.

When the police arrive they will most probably be armed with a 9mm Glock 17 or 19. While these hand guns are fine for normal police work or self-defense they are pretty much useless against trained terrorists using AK-47. Not many people, including law enforcement officers are able to hit a person in their central nervous system from more than 30-40 feet. FBI studies have concluded that between 50-70% of LEOs will miss the target with their second and third shots. Even when hit by a 9mm 124 grain hollow point anywhere but the CNS (heart, upper spine or head) the shooter will not be disabled and will continue his shooting. This has been proven by the FBI.

There has been mention of armed citizens carrying a concealed weapon (CCW) in preventing deaths in a terrorist attack such as mentioned above. Most CCW permit holders will be armed with either a 9mm or .40 caliber semi-automatic hand gun with a 3 or 4 inch barrel like a Glock or Smith and Wesson M-P. While these fire arms are good for close range self-defense they are not much value at ranges beyond 30-40 feet while the AK-47 can reach out to 100 yards with accuracy in the hands of a trained shooter. Keep in mind that these terrorist shooters will be using high capacity (50 rounds) double stacked magazines allowing then to reload quickly while the LEO or armed citizen will have magazines with a 10 or 15 round capacities. Once their slide locks open on an empty chamber they will probably be shot unless they are behind suitable cover.

I am not trying to downplay the value of LEOs or armed citizens I am merely stating the facts. Yes, the LEO or armed citizen can alleviate a terrorist attack by trained Islamic soldiers but these LEOs and armed citizens must be trained in tactical firearm combat with adequate mindset and muscle memory to shoot quickly and accurately. They are not shooting at paper targets; they are shooting at people who are shooting back.

My recommendation to those visiting their local shopping mall during this upcoming Christmas season is to stay in the yellow zone of situation awareness and if they see something suspicious get the hell out of there quickly. Embarrassment is way better than being dead.

Why doesn't it feel like world war to most of us? Because the attacks are happening at different times by people from many different countries againstFlag_of_Islamic_State_of_Iraq.svg many different countries, using many different kinds of weapons, without using a flag, without uniforms, and often done by people born and raised in the country being attacked. What kind of a war is this?

It's an all-out war of Islamists against everyone else, not to seize territory or gain the spoils of war, but to make the whole world apply Sharia law.

Why are they doing this? Because it is their duty. They believe (as it says in the Qur'an) that the world cannot be saved until every government on earth is an Islamic state. Peace cannot reign until the whole world is ruled by Islamic law. It is their sacred duty to overthrow, by whatever means, the non-Islamic governments of the world, because a government ruled without Allah's laws is a profanity.

They are not cowards and maniacs. They are dedicated soldiers willing to die for the caliphate and Allah.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Cognitive Dissidence of the Democrats

Cognitive Dissidence: In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time, performs an action that is contradictory to one or more beliefs, ideas or values, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values.

Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance focuses on how humans strive for internal consistency. An individual who experiences inconsistency (dissonance) tends to become psychologically uncomfortable, and is motivated to try to reduce this dissonance—as well as actively avoid situations and information likely to increase it.

A basic example of CD is when presented with a certain set of provable facts that are contrary to personally held beliefs one either suffers physiological tension or goes into denial. This is common among Democrats.

I watching snippets of last night’s Democratic public relations press conference (called a debate) each candidate refused to use or agree with the term Radical Islam when the question was posed by the moderators. Sanders, Clinton and O’Malley. Sanders said the term did not matter and went on to describe the barbarian behavior of the terrorists. Clinton dodged the question with her referral to Jihad excusing Muslims from being terrorist. O’Malley said the problem was radical Jihadis.

Note: Jihad is an Islamic term referring to the religious duty of Muslims to maintain the religion. In Arabic, the word jihad is a noun meaning "to strive, to apply oneself, to struggle, to persevere". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid, the plural of which is mujahideen The word jihad appears frequently in the Quran, often in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God to refer to the act of striving to serve the purposes of God on this earth.

In essence O’Malley’s response was saying the problem was radical war makers. This is how the Democrats (including Obama) address the question of terrorists today. It is cognitive dissonance for political purposes, i.e. don’t insult Muslims, they might not vote for us. It should be noted that Islamic Radicals kill more Muslims that anyone else.

They latest attacks in Paris with 128 dead and 300 wounded (80 critically)France Paris Shootings (21) and the downing of the Russian airliner killing 240 is the latest example of Radical Islamic jihad practiced by ISIS (ISIL). This is not workplace violence, random acts of terror, a criminal act, or senseless violence as some reporters and liberals state. It is (was) a planned, coordinated attack on us non-believers. The Pairs attack was carried out by Syrian immigrants into France. The weapons and tactics they used, including the suicide vests, were planned in detail and highly coordinated. This type of attack is not a random act of violence or senseless. It resembled the Mumbai attack of 2008 where 164 people were killed and 308 wounded.

(Photo of Victims of a shooting attack lay on the pavement outside La Bell Equipe restaurant in Paris Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Well over 100 people were killed in Paris on Friday night in a series of shooting, explosions.Anne Sophie Chaisemartin AP )

Europe in their cognitive dissidence knows that the Syrians and Yemenese are most capable and ideologically prone to carry out attacks like this. They also know that their citizens are going to Syria to join ISIS in the fight. Yet they are allowing thousands of Syrian refugees into their countries with Germany taking the most – 700 thousand. Keep in mind that 70% of these “refugees” are men between the ages of 16-35. Where are the women? Where are the children? Yes the media focuses on one photo of a man holding a dead child who had drowned while attempting to enter Europe. This is fodder for the bleeding hearts and do-gooders. By admitting these refugees they appease their guilt and walk away feeling good about themselves ignoring the threat to national security.

French President Francois Hollande has contended unambiguously that ISIS launched the Paris terrorist attacks Friday night, and ISIS itself has now claimed responsibility. It is not too early, even now, to draw important lessons from this tragedy. We do so both to prevent the near-term recurrence of more terrorist violence against the West, and to address seriously the broader, global Islamicist threat that has been growing, not diminishing, in recent years. We certainly have at least enough information and experience to draw working hypotheses for the next days and weeks until more details become available.

Fox News reported:

“ISIS claims of responsibility for Friday’s Paris massacre are being reviewed by US intelligence analysts Sunday morning, with a focus on the English-language version, which is delivered in American-accented English, Fox News has been told. It is now clear the plot included a rollout of ISIS propaganda, which was prepared in advance, including threats directed toward the Russian people, Rome, London and Washington DC.

Separately, Fox News has learned that four credible, ISIS-linked social media accounts began sharing messages 72 hours before the Paris attack, including images of weapons, the Eiffel tower, as well as blessings for the attackers’ mission. A military intelligence source says the social media traffic is now seen as evidence the three teams had gone operational.

The translations include “God bless you in your mission” and “Support the deployment,” as well as a reference to our “sister,” suggesting an operative, or member of the support team was a woman.

Meanwhile, FBI Director James Comey has told field offices across the country to intensify surveillance on ISIS suspects, hoping to prevent violence in this country. Before the attack, Comey confirmed there are 900 active ISIS investigations, spread over all 50 states.”

Now Obama wants to allow over 65,000 Syrian refugees into the United States with more planned. The FBI states it is impossible the vet this many refugees. Where will they go? Where will they live? No doubt they will want to go to places where they can stay under the radar of law enforcement until they have consolidated their cells and planned their attacks. I sure as hell don’t want any of them in my town or neighborhood. According to the FBI we already have many ideologically indoctrinated Muslims and non-Muslims young adults in the country – too many to watch with the resources they have. The latest attack at the University of California at Merced is under investigation by the FBI. The FBI does investigate local murders – they investigate acts of terrorism.

Authors like Brad Thor, the late Vince Flynn, and the late Tom Clancy have written books on the subject of planned Islamic terror attacks in the United States. These books, while fiction might be considered precursors to what is coming. They certainly were for France.

I have often talked about situation awareness and being armed. Both will go a long way in preventing or alleviating such terrorist attacks. We know this from the attacks in Chattanooga in July and Garland, Texas. The list is long.

While most Americans are not legally armed, especially in states like California and New York; they certainly can follow the rules of situation awareness and live in the Yellow Zone and not the White where most people live their lives. For those who are not familiar with these zones here is a brief recap:

White Zone: This is where most Americans live. They walk about with ear buds in their ears or talking on cell phones. They window shop in the mall where I believe the terrorists will soon attack. They are unaware of what is going on in the world or around them.

Yellow Zone: This is the zone you can live in without too much trouble. You are aware of your surroundings and who is around you. You constantly scan your surroundings. You look in shop windows and note not only what the retailer is selling but also the reflections. You note where the exits are and where cover would be. You are constantly aware.

Orange Zone: Now we are in a zone where you need to take action to protect yourself and your loved ones. If you see something that bothers you – you will know if you are in the Yellow Zone. You might see a suspicious person or someone walking about mumbling to him or herself. Seeing a package or backpack unattended. This is where you take flight. You leave the potentially dangerous situation. There is no harm in being wrong. You are still safe. Embarrassment beats the hell out of a 5.56 or 7.62 round in your head or an explosion killing or maiming you.

The Red Zone: This zone only pertains to those who are legally armed. In this zone you cannot take flight – you have to defend yourself. Example might be in a parking structure where you approached by someone about to harm you with a knife, club or firearm. This is where there is not time or opportunity to flee. You have to shoot. It should be noted that you must be trained and proficient at self-defense shooting. You must have the mindset, the skill and muscle memory, and the tools to do this.

One last thought on whether or not words matter. If you don’t define the enemy with clarity you cannot fight and kill them. Just think of the brave soldiers of the 1st, 29th, and 4th Divisions storming the beaches of Normandy on June 4, 1944 being told not to call the German defenders Nazis as they might offend them. Ridiculous? Yes it certainly is. But this is exactly what the liberals are advocating today when it comes to Radical Islam.

Islam is the world's second largest religion. According to a 2010 study and released January 2011, Islam has 1.57 billion adherents, making up over 23% of the world population. According to the Pew Research Center in 2015 there were 50 Muslim-majority countries.

I have tried to get a figure on how many Radical Islamics there are in the world. I had two problems. One is the definition of “Radical”. It runs from dedicated Jihadis like ISIS to those who endorse genital mutilation of young girls along with lack of education for girls to those supporting the imposition of Sharia Law. Second the number ranges from 0.1% to 25%. If I use 10% the number of Radical Islamists in the world would be 157 million. You can make up your own mind on how many have the resources and ability to attack us in the United States. If it’s only 0.1% that’s 157 thousand. Of course as of today it only took 8-10 to cause 128 deaths and over 300 wounded in Paris.

Indeed, this is a time for statesmanship, resolve and determination, not for sweeping the cruel reality of what has just happened under the rug. Our ability to safeguard the future may well depend in substantial part on what we do and how we do it in just these coming days and weeks.

We should not view the appropriate American and Western response as “bringing these terrorists to justice,” in President Obama’s words. This is not a matter for the criminal law, as many American political and academic leaders, including the President, have insisted, even after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

This is a war, as President Hollande has forthrightly called it, not a slightlyAPTOPIX France Paris Shooting (1) enhanced version of thieves knocking over the corner grocery store within an ordered civil society. And the mechanism of response must be to destroy the source of the threat, not prosecute it, not contain it, not hope that we will “ultimately” destroy it. “Ultimately” is too far away.

(Photo of rescue workers help a woman after a shooting, outside the Bataclan theater in Paris, Friday Nov. 13, 2015. French President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency and announced that he was closing the country's borders.Thibault Camus AP )

(You can view more photos at: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article44800977.html)

In light of Paris and the continuing threat of terrorism it so graphically conveys, we need a more sensible national conversation about the need for effective intelligence gathering to uncover and prevent such tragedies before they occur.

Knee-jerk, uninformed and often wildly inaccurate criticisms of programs (such as several authorized in the wake of 9/11 in the Patriot Act) have created a widespread misimpression in the American public about what exactly our intelligence agencies have been doing and whether there was a “threat” to civil liberties. Now is the time to correct these misimpressions, and to rebut the unfounded criticisms that have in too many cases become the conventional wisdom.

Similarly, in the debate over immigration and refugees, it is time to take into account the national security issues at stake.

Law-enforcement and intelligence authorities had already estimated earlier this year that thousands of European and U.S. citizens had travelled to ISIS-controlled territory in Syria and Iraq, there to receive training and financing to conduct terrorist operations in their home countries. These were individuals with valid passports and visas, taking advantage of holes in our detection and prevention capabilities.

One priority should be to determine if any of those perpetrating the November13-14 attacks in Paris had travelled to ISIS lands. And imagine now the dangers posed by the massive refugee flows moving into Europe from North Africa, the Middle East and even Afghanistan.

A government that cannot keep its own borders secure and will not exercise discretion over Syrian refugees in light of the attacks on Paris is a government that should not stand because if that government continues to stand, the nation itself will falter.

A citizen who cannot look at Paris and realize an open invitation for Syrian refugees is a terrible idea or has faith that our government can quickly discern who should or should not come probably should be ignored.

If we cannot exercise discernment and discretion in letting in refugees from Syria, we should let none of them in. It really is that simple.