Congress and Orlando Terrorism

by Newt Gingrich: The Congress has to quit passively allowing the American left to set the focus for responding to the Orlando attack.

The left, in both its news media and Democratic Party wings, is desperately trying to avoid the central challenge of Islamic supremacist terrorism. Since the left is too frightened to deal with the scale of the Islamic supremacist challenge, they are working overtime to turn Orlando into a gun control problem.

A brief look beyond Orlando will illustrate how false the left’s analysis is.

In the last few days, an Islamic supremacist killed 49 Americans and wounded 53 in Orlando. He targeted a gay nightclub in reflection of the Sharia law injunction to kill gays. He called 911 to declare his allegiance to ISIS. As he murdered, he yelled “Allahu Akbar”.

The American attack was paralleled by two Islamic supremacist attacks overseas.

In France an Islamic supremacist shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he knifed a policeman to death then tortured his wife to death while live streaming her torture on Facebook. (She worked in the local police station.) Then he wondered aloud on the live stream whether or not he should kill the couple’s three-year-old baby. French commandos killed him and saved the baby.

In the Philippines, the head of a Canadian businessman was found. He was the second Canadian killed in the last few months by the same Islamic supremacist group. Presumably a knife or machete was used to cut off his head.

Given three attacks by Islamic supremacists involving three different kinds of weapons, one might more logically conclude the focus of concern should not be the type of weapon but the common ideology of Islamic supremacism.

That analysis was reinforced on Thursday by CIA Director John Brennan, who told the Senate Intelligence Committee that ISIS remains “a formidable, resilient and largely cohesive enemy.”

According to the Washington Post, Brennan went on to say ISIS that has “a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West.” He said that ISIS could enter the U.S. through “refugee flows, smuggling routes and legitimate means of travel.”

The Congress should shift from focusing on the weapon to focusing on the terrorists.

Congress should start immediate hearings on three zones of the Long War.

First, we have to develop a global strategy and system to defeat Islamic supremacists wherever they exist.

Second, we have to develop a strategy and system to deal with non-Americans who try to come here to wage war against us.

Third, we have to develop new laws for American citizens who want to wage war against America. For example:

• Americans who pledge loyalty to ISIS and other Islamic supremacist movements are engaging in treason and should lose their citizenship.
• Americans who learn about potential terrorist attacks should be charged as accomplices if they fail to turn in the plotter.
• Supporting Islamic supremacist groups overseas (as the Orlando killer’s father does) should lead to being put on a watch list and other restrictions, subject to judicial review.
• Islamic supremacist propaganda should be outlawed and its possession should be a criminal offense. Limits on the First Amendment in wartime are unavoidable, and we are at war. I first made this point in 2006, and it is still true today.

As a former Congressional leader, I find it infuriating to watch the Republican majorities in the House and Senate passively accept the left’s definition of Orlando.

We need hearings, legislation and actions that focus on the Islamic Supremacist threat.

Director Brennan’s testimony about ISIS seeking to infiltrate the U.S. through refugee flows should be enough new evidence to justify a bill suspending Syrian refugees until the system of vetting is thoroughly overhauled.

Most Americans will focus on terrorists rather than the weapons they use if we make the argument.

Now is the time to act.
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Newt Gingrich is a former Georgia Congressman and Speaker of the U.S. House. He co-authored and was the chief architect of the "Contract with America" and a major leader in the Republican victory in the 1994 congressional elections. He is noted speaker and writer. The above commentary was shared via Gingrich Productions.

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