Let's not even bother speculating about the reasons why, but the House of Representatives just handed the terrorists a big win.
During a House-Senate conference meeting last week, some lawmakers tried to get a provision in a Homeland Security bill that would protect citizens who report suspicious terrorist-related activity from being sued.
That's a big win for Islamist extremists. The majority party bowed to pressure from supporters of the "flying imams" - the six Muslim clerics who last November made the big show of making bizarre requests for seat-belt extenders with big heavy buckles, sitting in the exit rows and center of a plane in a 9/11 hijacker pattern, violating airline safety rules by milling around the cabin and leaving their assigned seats just after takeoff, then chanting anti-American slogans and yelling "Allah, Allah."
The "flying imams" are shown in the photo at Reagan National Airport, holding hands.
House Democrats blocked the good-citizen protection language because, they say, they're afraid keeping vigilant citizens safe from lawsuits would lead to racial profiling.
"I don't see how you can have a homeland security bill without protecting people who come forward to report suspicious activity," says Rep. Peter King (R-NY) of the House Homeland Security Committee said about his colleagues' action.
A federal air marshal adds, "The crew and passengers act as our additional eyes and ears on every flight. If they are afraid of reporting suspicious individuals out of fear of being labeled a racist or bigot, the terrorists will certainly use these fears to their advantage in future aviation attacks."
The Council for an American Islamic Republic (CAIR) led a protest to demand an investigation of US Air, which removed the suspiciously-acting men, as well as a probe of airport security.
No word yet about the names of the individual congressmen and staffers responsible, but we'll print them as soon as we find who they were.
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