What jihad has cost Americans

by Guy Rodgers

Executive Director

Perhaps you’ve noticed. Every time there’s a jihadist attack, whether foiled or successful, government leaders, media mouthpieces, Muslim Brotherhood front organizations, and academic apologists bend over backwards urging us not to rush to judgment.

They collectively decry “Islamophobia” and wring their hands in fear for all the Muslims who will now be persecuted by “bigoted” Americans.

It’s so predictable, it’s like watching a bad remake of the movie “Groundhog Day.”

Perhaps you’ve also noticed that the alleged bigoted wave of Muslim persecution never comes. If it did, it would be front page news all over America.

What you won’t find on the front page news is the horrific cost in lives, money, and freedom, that America specifically, and the West generally, has paid—and continues to pay—thanks to the rising tide of global Islamic jihad.

Most of us have some awareness of the cost in lives, from 9/11 to Ft. Hood to the Boston Marathon bombings.

The direct cost in dollars is tougher to calculate. Since its creation we’ve spent over $400 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost close to $1.5 trillion. Throw in the creation of the TSA; extra costs for security at every level of society; the costs for Guantanamo Bay and every prosecution of every Islamic terrorist; and I’d estimate we’re conservatively talking about $2.5 trillion since 9/11.

We’re paying that with our taxes and the national debt we’re piling on our children and grandchildren.

What’s more, as soon as a jihadist blows up something at one of our ports we’ll have to implement heightened security and screening measures not now in place. Ka-ching.

And all these costs don’t include the indirect cost in dollars due to the recession after 9/11. Hundreds of billions? Who knows? I know my IRA took a huge hit after 9/11.

But what about the intangible costs we’ve incurred? The costs in loss of freedom, rising fear, and impositions on our way of life?

• Onerous shakedowns, pat-downs, put-downs, and invasive imaging at airport security.
• Extra time we have to allow to go through long security lines at airports.
• Watching the TSA agent throw away your expensive bottle of perfume you forgot was in your carry-on bag.
• Explosion of public surveillance cameras.
• Extra time we have to allow when attending any public event where security is considered necessary (such as sporting events).
• Fear of going to public events.
• That knot in our stomachs when we see an abandoned backpack in a public place.
• The time law enforcement has to spend preventing terrorism and tracking down terrorists—time that takes them away from keeping us safe from murderers, rapists, thieves and vandals.
• Bag searches at theme parks like Disney World.
• Endless intimidation tactics, such as the persecution of free speech, name calling and threats (“Islamophobe,” “racist,” “bigot,” etc., etc.). I’m thinking of that wonderful teacher in Concrete, Washington, whose reputation has been smeared by CAIR-Washington because she dared to tell the truth about the Taliban and Hamas.
• Government intimidation, such as reported instances where government agents (e.g., police), have shown up at people’s homes to question them after complaints of “Islamophobia.” I wonder how many burglaries occurred while those police were busy interrogating innocent people?
• Messing with the minds of our children and grandchildren thanks to biased and inaccurate public school textbooks.
• Heightened security precautions for every person or organization that speaks out against the threat of radical Islam. For instance, some of our chapter leaders use pen names. Brigitte Gabriel has been the target of death threats.
• Government surveillance of our websites and blog sites.
• The NSA (National Security Agency) collecting phone records nationwide. The justification for this, and it’s understandable even if disconcerting, is the terrorist threat to our national security. No terrorist threat, no phone records seizure.
• Banking and financial regulations that impose often unseen burdens on our ability to engage in financial transactions. One group of nuns actually had their bank account frozen because they were suspected of terrorism. Why? One of the nuns didn’t have her Social Security number and photo ID on the account!

In short, the entire fabric of American society has been dramatically altered by the rising tide of global Islamic jihad. There is no aspect of our lives that hasn’t been negatively impacted by this. We have less privacy, less freedom, more cost, more fear—the inevitable consequence of jihadist terror.

And the jihadists know this. They know their actions are negatively impacting our lives. It’s part of their strategy to break our will.

I’m not saying Islamic jihad is the only threat that has spawned all of these changes to our lives. But clearly, it’s the most predominant, by far.

As I assess the incredible price we’re paying for jihad, I’ve grown weary of hearing how Muslims are being inconvenienced or feel uncomfortable or feel like their rights are being infringed upon.

Join the club. Every time I have to virtually undress at the airport, I feel violated and my rights infringed upon.

I’ve lost patience with the complaining about how bad Muslims are being treated in America, about the price they’re paying.

We’re ALL paying a price. Where’s the sympathy and empathy for us non-Muslims who didn’t ask for this?

To the degree that Muslims are suffering repercussions, they’re paying a price for the actions of other Muslims. If they really want things to change, they can do something about it by going to the heart of the problem and standing up to the stealth and violent jihadists in their midst, including their leaders.

Stop screaming “Islamophobia” and start exposing all the hate-filled, violent and jihadist literature in the majority of mosques in America.

Join together with reformist Muslims and organizations who are confronting the Muslim Brotherhood and its alphabet soup of legacy organizations in America (CAIR, ISNA, MAS, MPAC, MSA, IIIT, NAIT, etc., etc., etc.).

Start asking why historically open and tolerant countries like the Netherlands, who welcomed Muslim immigration for decades, are now experiencing a growing citizen pushback against that immigration.

Start putting yourselves in the shoes of us non-Muslims. We’re paying a hefty price for something we didn’t ask for and we didn’t deserve.

And please, no more lectures about how supposedly “intolerant” Americans are. It’s a remarkable commentary on the goodness and tolerance of Americans when you consider the enormous price we’ve paid thanks to jihad, which we’ve shouldered virtually without retaliation against the Muslim community.

So the next time someone complains to you about the price Muslims are paying, however that price is defined, nod your head and say “I hear you. Have you ever calculated the price non-Muslims are paying because of global Islamic jihad?”

And then spell it out for them.

Who knows? You might change a few minds along the way.

Yours for a safe and free America,

Guy Rodgers