Responding to the Syrian refugee crisis, Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson argued that we shouldn’t take more Syrian Muslim refugees because we don’t want another Boston Marathon bomber. It’s just the latest in a long line of prominent Republicans using double standards over terrorist threats.
After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush famously declared war on terrorism and pressed for legislation allowing for such a war. But what exactly “terrorism” is can be surprisingly difficult to pin down. For instance, while most Americans probably think Islamic terrorism is the primary menace to American society, most terrorism — especially of the lone wolf variety that Carson invokes with the Boston Marathon bomber — isn’t from radicalized Muslim foreigners or immigrants.
On average, a right-wing terrorist will strike a little less than once a month in America. Ironically, their targets are often Muslims. Of course the media seldom notes these incidents for whatever reason, but it does mean that the Donald Trump supporters who attacked a homeless man in Boston match the face of terror more than the Muslims who detonated explosives in the city years before. But of course, neither Carson nor Trump have proposed rejecting conservative or Christian refugees because of their risk to Americans.
Other hypocrisies abound in the Republican field on the subject of terrorism. In the first JV debate last month, Gov. George Pataki and Sen. Lindsey Graham openly advocated for spying on mosques. Later that night, Sen. Rand Paul denounced the mayor of Houston for asking to screen pastors’ sermons. There really isn’t a difference between the issues, except that Muslims are a small and sparsely spread minority in the United States, while conservative Christians represent a sizable portion of the Republican base.
By this point, a handful of Republican candidates have given up on calls to go after “the terrorists” and just made it blatantly clear that they only care about Muslim terrorists, and not racist or anti-Islam militias or abortion clinic bombers. Sen. Ted Cruz, always one for nuance, often criticizes President Obama for refusing to state that the greatest enemy of America is “radical Islam.”
The implication is that America isn’t just at geopolitical odds with Iran and ISIS, but also that every Muslim at home is suspicious and dangerous, so curtailing their rights is justified. But, “radical Islam” presumably doesn’t apply to our allies in Saudi Arabia who behead more people than ISIS. Oh, and they provided a majority of the 9/11 hijackers. But when pressed as to how they aren’t a threat to the United States, Carly Fiorina and Gov. Rick Perry refused to explain how that version of “radical Islam” is fine.
I do not mean to suggest that Islamic terrorism does not exist in the world. But, in America, the majority of lone wolf terrorists are radical conservatives, not Muslims fleeing a war zone. Even abroad, some of the most conservative Muslim states are solid American allies. If Dr. Carson were truly concerned with ending lone wolf terrorism, putting Donald Trump supporters on a watch list would be more effective than banning Syrian migrants. The implausibility of that scenario suggests that the Republicans’ real aim isn’t preventing terrorist attacks. Rather, it is spreading terror about Muslims.