Cordoba House Organizer: Anti-Muslim Sentiment ‘Like A Metastasized Anti-Semitism’
Appearing on This Week, Cordoba House organizer Daisy Khan said there was concern among American Muslims about America being Islamophobic. “Yes, I think we are deeply concerned, because this is like a metastasized anti-Semitism,” said Khan. “That’s what we feel right now. It’s not even Islamophobia, it’s beyond Islamophobia. It’s hate of Muslims. And we are deeply concerned. You know, I have had, yesterday had a council with all religious — Muslim religious leaders from around the country, and everybody is deeply concerned about what’s going on around the nation.”
McConnell: New York Should ‘Take Into Account Public Opinion’ From Around The Country On Cordoba House
Appearing on Meet The Press, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he thinks New York officials should take public opposition to the proposed Cordoba House Muslim community center into account in deciding the project’s location: “Well, ultimately that’s going to be decided by the people of New York. But I think we—because of the, the nature of the attack on 9/11, a lot of people, not just in New York, but around the country, have strong views about this. And I hope the people of New York who can actually make the decision will take into account public opinion, not only locally, but around the country, in making a final decision on the location of this facility.”
Odierno: U.S. Combat Troops Might Return To Iraq If Asked
Appearing on Face The Nation, Gen. Ray Odierno said that it was possible for American combat troops to return to Iraq. “If they ask us that they might want us to stay longer, we certainly would consider that,” said Odierno. “That would obviously be a policy decision that would be made by the national security team and the president over time.” He also said, however, that the Iraqi security forces have been doing “so well for so long now that we really believe we’re beyond that point.”
Odierno: Iraq ‘Will Be Ready’ For Full U.S. Withdrawal Next year
Also appearing on State of the Union, Gen. Ray Odierno elaborated on the future of U.S. forces in Iraq, saying the country was on track to be ready for next year’s planned withdrawal of all American forces. “My assessment today is … they will be [ready for next year’s withdrawal],” said Odierno. “I think that they continue to grow. We continue to see development in planning, in their ability to conduct operations. We continue to see political development, economic development and all of these combined together will start to create an atmosphere that creates better security.”
Karzai Firm on Disbanding Private Security Contractors
Appearing on This Week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly stated that his country would get rid of private security firms, outside of those working for embassies and private organizations. “Finally, I began to conclude after a lot of consideration and on a good ground of solid information that the more we wait, the more we lose,” said Karzai. “Therefore, we have decided in the Afghan government to bring an end to the presence of these security companies who are running a parallel security structure to the Afghan government, who are not only causing corruption in this country, but who are looting and stealing from the Afghan people, who are causing a lot of harassment to our civilians, who we don’t know whether they are security companies at daytime and then some of them turn into terroristic groups at nighttime.”
Dean: White House Advisers ‘Have Really Misjudged What Goes On Elsewhere In The Country’
Appearing on State of the Union, former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean sharply criticized the White House political team. “I think the people around the president have really misjudged what goes on elsewhere in the country other than Washington, D.C.,” said Dean. “I don’t think this is true of the president, but I do think his people, his political people ought to go out and spend some time outside Washington once in a while.”
Blagojevich: We Would Call Emanuel, Other Pols in Second Trial
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) said that he would call as witnesses for a potential second trial such Washington officials as White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). “If we put on a defense and properly explain these things, the jury will see it’s exactly about what it is, political horse-trading,” Blagojevich said. “They did nothing wrong either.”
Editor’s Note: This post has been revised since it was first published.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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