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The week ahead will be a busy one for the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. On Wednesday morning, a hearing entitled: “The American Muslim Response to Hearings on Radicalization within their Community,” will be the fifth in an ongoing series of radicalization hearings which convened in March, 2011, at the request of Rep. Peter King (R-NY), the Committee’s chairman.
U.S. Representative Peter King announced plans to hold the upcoming hearing on June 13, 2012. In a statement, King said that since the series of hearing began last March, he has been vilified by the politically correct media, ‘pandering politicians’ and radical groups such as CAIR. Rep. King explains the focus of Wednesday’s hearing as:
“Next week’s hearing, at which I will be calling three Muslim witnesses, will expand on the prior hearings to examine the impact they have had in the Muslim Community’s ability to address this issue and on U.S. efforts to counter al-Qaeda and affiliated groups’ radicalizing of Muslims in this country to carry out terrorist attacks on the homeland.”
Among the witnesses expected to testify at Wednesday’s hearing is Asra Q. Nomani, an author, Professor of Journalism at Georgetown University, a Mother and a Muslim. Ms. Nomani acknowledges that what she calls “ideological bullies” exist. The tactics of intimidation that they use in mosques shows “why honest, courageous conversation about radicalism in our community is so desperately needed.”
M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D., President and Founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is scheduled to testify for the second time. As an invited guest, Jasser testified at the first radicalization hearing on March 10, 2011. Jasser told the members of the committee that the most important threat to American security in the 21st century is Islamist Radicalization.
Also expected to testify at Wednesday’s hearing is Dr. Qanta A. Ahmed, M.D., the author of “In the Land of Invisible Women,” in which she details her experience practicing medicine in Saudi Arabia. She is associate professor of medicine at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook and a 2010 Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellow in Science and Religion. Dr. Ahmed has been a vocal supporter of France’s burqa ban in 2011.
On Tuesday morning, the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled: “Border Security Threats to the Homeland: DHS’ Response to Innovative Tactics and Techniques.” U.S. Representative Candice Miller (MI-R) the committee’s Chair said:
“As we have strengthened the Department of Homeland Security presence along the borders, drug cartels, human smugglers, and illegal aliens have come up with innovative and creative ways to bypass our security measures. We want to examine the Department’s response to these shifting border smuggling tactics and their use of small boats, semi and fully submersibles, small ultra light aircraft, and the proliferation of border tunnels.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the House Subcommittee on Transportation Security will hold a hearing entitled: Is TSA’s Planned Purchase of CAT/BPSS a Wise Use of Taxpayer Dollars? The Transportation Security Administration has selected Morpho Trust’s authentication technology/boarding pass scanning system for testing to enhance screening at airports.
On Thursday, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management will hold a hearing entitled “U.S.-Caribbean Border: Open Road for Drug Traffickers and Terrorists.” The Subcommittee Chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said the hearing will examine the growing national security threat posed by America’s unprotected Caribbean border, and the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to secure that border from drug trafficking, human smuggling and the possibility of weapons of mass destruction destined for the United States. (Article by Cynthia Hodges)
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