Producer's Desk — islamic extremism

Things I liked:

“I appreciated the unequivocal commitment to confront violent extremism in all of its forms, although I did note the word ‘terror’ or ‘terrorism’ was never used. It seems to me the difference between terrorism and violent extremism is a distinction without a difference.

“I also appreciated the defense of religious freedom. ‘Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the soul.’ One can’t ask for a better affirmation of soul freedom, the soul freedom that is a treasured gift of our Baptist ancestors to America.

Things I didn’t like:

“The fact that he seemed to imply a moral equivalence between the Holocaust and the sufferings of the Jewish people versus the sufferings of the Palestinian people. They are not equivalent. Any suggestion or intimation that they are diminishes our understanding of the horror of the Jewish experience in the Holocaust.

“Also, the fact that there was no mention of the role our military has played in the liberation of millions of Muslims from oppression in Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq was disturbing.“

Read the full BP Story…

The attached (PDF) is a summary of remarks by Dr. Richard Land to Mega Metro Pastor’s Conference – Colorado Springs, CO – April 21, 2009. It is rough and subject to change.

Very little change in policy compared to Bush…

“President Obama, admitting belatedly and begrudgingly the success of George W. Bush’s surge strategy, decided to keep large numbers of troops there for another 19 months and an unspecified number after that. Responsibly, he decided not to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.” – Michael Barone, “Back to the Future,” Townhall.com, April 21, 2009

Read the complete summary… (160 KB PDF)

Thanks to Powerline for highlighting these Washington Post articles:

• U.S. Embassy Cites Progress in Iraq - Wash. Post
• Sunni Bloc to Rejoin Government - Wash. Post

Also, Michelle Malkin highlights an LA Times report about emerging Iraqi car lovers.

In case you missed Richard Land’s recent post on the subject…

My latest post:

“My question for the critics of the war is this: What part of significant progress do you not understand?”

Read the rest here…

Dr. Land’s most recent post to Beliefnet:

“…These countries are just a few of the examples of the fact that when given the opportunity, majority Muslim countries embrace free elections, and when they exercise their franchise, they do not choose radical Islamist candidates to represent them. That is why the radicals try to murder and terrorize their way to power – like all totalitarians, they don’t do well in the democratic process. Could the Bush doctrine of promoting free and fair elections in Muslim majority countries – actually be working?” Read the rest at Beliefnet…

America’s National Security At Risk - Richard Land

“Americans are less safe today from terrorists than two weeks ago. On Feb. 16, a critical law authorizing our intelligence community to monitor foreign terrorists’ communications expired… Liberals in Congress appear more interested in empowering the lawyers to sue the telecommunications companies than they are in providing for the security of United States citizens…” - Richard Land

Richard Land participates in a USCIRF hearing on Advancing Religious Freedom and Related Human Rights in Iran.

• Streaming video from C-SPAN.
• Full transcript from USCIRF