Noor Zahi Salman: Everything You're Hearing About Me Is a Lie

[Article originally posted June 15, 2016 at approx 5:43 ET p.m.]

Addendum: My source has now been in direct communication with Noor Zahi Salman. She says that she has read this article. She states in a text which I have seen that instead of blaming her, since she had nothing to do with the shooting, shouldn't the people who sold the guns take some blame? She writes all she wanted "was a home, family, and peace -- for the media to say these lies isn't right." A friend, who is with her, adds: "It is not an easy time for her ... and having a child ask a mother 'where is daddy' can't be easy and for New York Post to show her son's face is not right." [Added June 16 at approx 11:55 ET a.m.]

Original article: 

Virtually everything in the media about Noor Zahi Salman, Omar Mateen's wife, is from anonymous government sources. They lie in situations like this. 

Such anonymous sourcing helped facilitate the lies used to invade Iraq and countless other horrific policies. They're doubly dangerous during a panic, consider that after government anthrax killed people in 2001, Andrew Sullivan talked about using nuclear weapons. 

And the government has a lot of incentives to lie about this case. They failed to keep people safe. So, what to do? Blame the wife. Blame the Muslims. They didn't alert us. They are suspect. Potentially, all of them. That's what Trump -- and Clinton in more subtle ways -- are saying. 

I didn't need to be in contact with people who know Noor Zahi Salman to know that, but it helps. 

In fact, I am in touch with a friend of hers who is in regular contact with people around her now. This means I am probably in closer touch with the actual facts of the case than the zillion media outlets blaring whatever it is "sources" are telling them to blare at you. In so doing, they are smearing a woman who was questioned by the most powerful government in the world, smeared on the largest media outlets as a virtual accessory to mass murder -- all without the benefit of a lawyer. 

She is apparently telling people around her that virtually everything you're hearing about her is a lie. 

Some examples:

NBC claims: "The Orlando gunman's wife feared he was going to attack a gay nightclub overnight Saturday and pleaded with him not to do anything violent — but failed to warn police after he left, NBC News has learned."

Noor Zahi Salman is apparently saying she didn't have any idea of an attack. 

NBC claims: "In addition, she said she was with him when he bought ammunition and a holster, several officials familiar with the case said."

Noor Zahi Salman is apparently saying she didn't do that. She says it might be possible that they went shopping together -- and she went to buy food or clothing and he might have gone to a gun store. In any case, why is this on her? Why are people focusing on her and not the "security" firm G4S that employed Mateen? How is it that the FBI is suddenly off the hook? 

The Daily Beast claims: "Noor Zahi Salman also reportedly drove Mateen to the gay nightclub Pulse to case the place before he killed 49 people there on Sunday night."

Noor Zahi Salman is apparently saying that she never drove him to the club and that in fact, she doesn't like to drive at all. 

ABC claims: "After Noor Mateen began to answer questions, agents administered a polygraph test to determine whether she was telling the truth."

Noor Zahi Salman is apparently saying she offered to take a polygraph but the government declined. 

What we apparently have is severe logrolling between media and government -- where government sources hide behind anonymous quotes and media hide behind anonymous sources. So, basically, they can mutually absolve each other and publish most anything that will benefit the both of them. 

Seriously, what's the justification for using anonymous sources on this story? My justification for using my anonymous sources is that they are scared. The only thing the government sources driving this story are afraid of is that they will be held responsible for their words. 

We're not seeing a free-for-all in terms of everyone speculating as they please. There might be justification for that: Bring on the government stenographer, then bring on the false flag theorist. No, what we're seeing are directed leaks laying out a pattern of smearing an individual, smearing a community and getting the government and media off the hook for the fact that 50 people are dead. 

Some friends of Noor Zahi Salman are apparently speculating that what actually happened was that Omar Mateen was about to be outed as gay -- and went nuts. This could have broader implications since "Israel surveils and blackmails gay Palestinians to make them informants." That clearly is speculative. But far more responsible than speculation that is streaming forth from your TV. 

I know more, including an allegation about how the government treated Noor Zahi Salman that would turn your stomach. 

I'm not telling all I know now because I have reason to believe it might make the family and friends uncomfortable. 

See what I did just there? I was forthright with you, my reader, while respectful of my sources. 

Big media propagating anonymous government allegations about Noor Zahi Salman distracts from their own failure to protect the public from attacks. 

Instead, it fingers the Arab and Muslim communities as responsible. And that's a message that is being articulated in ways crude and subtle from our "leaders": 

Says Donald Trump: "But the Muslims have to work with us. They have to work with us. They know what’s going on. They know that he was bad. They knew the people in San Bernardino were bad. But you know what? They didn’t turn them in. And you know what? We had death, and destruction."

More subtly, says Hillary Clinton: "Since 9/11, law enforcement agencies have worked hard to build relationships with Muslim-American communities. Millions of peace-loving Muslims live, work, and raise their families across America. They are the most likely to recognize the insidious effects of radicalization before it’s too late, and the best positioned to help us block it. We should be intensifying contacts in those communities, not scapegoating or isolating them." Clinton pretends to be against "scapegoating" when that's exactly what she just did. Most just let it slide because it's not as crass as Trump's formulation of much the same idea. 

Most subtle still is President Obama: "Since before I was President, I’ve been clear about how extremist groups have perverted Islam to justify terrorism. As President, I have repeatedly called on our Muslim friends and allies at home and around the world to work with us to reject this twisted interpretation of one of the world’s great religions."

I don't know Noor Zahi Salman. I have not had the opportunity to speak to her directly. I don't know for certain how forthright of a person she is, though even through media reports, several people who have known her have said she's upstanding. My immediate source I believe is very reliable. Things are rushed, there maybe misunderstandings here. Noor Zahi Salman is quite likely in shock, she may be honestly misspeaking, especially when in a coercive environment before threatening government agents. 

Now, would I like more sources to confirm what I'm writing? Yes, I would, but I think it would be irresponsible to let what are likely falsehoods contaminate the public mind on virtually every major media outlet given the limited capacity to communicate directly with Noor Zahi Salman at this time. 

Correction: This article originally stated "Noor Zahi Salman is apparently 'free', but with an electronic bracelet." That sentence has now been removed. In fact, my source now tells me that she doesn't have a electronic bracelet on her, she has rather been told by the FBI to keep a phone they gave her. My source states: "The FBI was waiting for a search warrant and that apparently didn't come as fast as they wanted so they asked if they could search the apartment. She said she had nothing to hide and signed something allowing them to take her phone, ipad, and a camera. Again, she said she had nothing to hide and they could have them. The FBI gave her a cell phone to carry with her in the mean time (and possibly in place of a bracelet as a tracking device). After she gave the authorization to take the items is when they said she was free to go." [Correction added June 16 at approx 11:05 ET a.m.] To clarify: I believe that the misunderstanding over the electronic bracelet occurred because Noor Zahi Salman and/or a friend or relative offered for the FBI to put a electronic bracelet on her as a condition of release, but the FBI was willing to let her go if she checked in with a phone. This would seem to speak to the level of her cooperation. [June 16 at approx 3:15 ET p.m.] 

NPR "Correction" Obscures How "Terrorism Correspondent" Falsified How We Might End Threats

On Monday, the day after the horrific Orlando massacre, FAIR published a piece of mine: "Commenting on Orlando, NPR Terrorism Reporter Reverses Political Lesson of Madrid Blast," which stated: 

Shortly before noon on Sunday (6/12/16), during NPR’s national coverage of the horrific shooting in Orlando, NPR “counter-terrorism correspondent” Dina Temple-Raston [@NPRDina] made a critical false claim that deserves an on-air correction.

NPR’s hosts were talking about the Orlando shooting, terrorism and the US election. They asked Temple-Raston to chime in on the issue, and she drew a parallel with Spain, claiming that when the 2004 Madrid train attacks happened just before the Spanish election, “the more conservative candidate ended up winning.”

This is exactly backwards. 

In fact, the incumbent government, led by the conservative People’s Party, had brought the country into the Iraq War a year before against public opposition, and feared that if the attack were shown to be Mideast-related, voters would be furious. The day of the attack, March 11, 2004, the Spanish government had the United Nations Security Council pass resolution 1530, which condemned in “the strongest terms the bomb attacks in Madrid, Spain, perpetrated by the terrorist group ETA.” Three days later, the day of the election, Al Qaeda claimed responsibility.

Late Tuesday, I got a note from the NPR ombudsperson, Elizabeth Jensen (@ejensenNYC) pointing me to a "correction" on their website, which states: "On June 12, 2016, during a live broadcast about the Orlando shootings, NPR's Dina Temple-Raston was mistaken when she said commuter trains in Madrid were bombed in 2007. In fact, that happened in 2004. She also was mistaken about the results of elections that were held three days after the bombings. Prime Minister José María Aznar's party was defeated. Her comments begin around the 42:15 mark in the audio attached to this page."

I responded with the note below and have not received a response as yet:

If I understand the situation, this is merely being posted online, on the "corrections page" -- I don't see any link to that from the front page. The original falsehood was broadcast live on air on hundreds of stations at what was likely a time of very high listenership, just after the horrific Orlando massacre. 

All this is ironically mitigated by the fact that the "correction" does virtually nothing to communicate that Temple-Raston got the story exactly backwards. Temple-Raston claimed that the "more conservative" Spanish party won just after the 2004 Madrid train terror attacks, when in fact, the more antiwar party won -- largely because of a 10 percent swing in the polls following the attacks. 

Nor does it communicate the critical significance of the underlying point: This was in a discussion about the U.S. election: How would a terror attack affect political campaigns? Virtually no one reading this correction will have any sense of that. 

There's a huge story about what happened in Spain, how Spain has suffered no Mideast related terrorism in over a decade after this dramatic election following the attacks which led to the more antiwar party entering office and ending Spain's participation in the Iraq war. Do you have plans for that to be shared with your listeners? How it might affect decisions the U.S. makes? 

"Counter-terrorism correspondent" Temple-Raston's getting the year wrong as well is ironically used in the "correction" to further bury the lead of her getting the story backwards. 

This can hardly be seen as a response that would compel reporters to ensure they don't disinform your listeners. 

Sincerely, 
Sam Husseini

Sanders Shouldn't be in Vermont, He Should be in Brazil


Media report that presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is meeting with advisers in Vermont on Sunday. 

This last week, many spoke laudingly of the recently deceased Muhammad Ali. 

As some noted, Ali's great contribution was not being a talented athlete, heavy weight champion -- there are many such prominent sports figures, but they don't play a historic role. His true greatness came because at the height of his fame and powers, he challenged an oppressive system: He refused to go into the Army during the Vietnam War. It cost him a great deal of money and stature -- and tremendously helped the world and assured his canonization. 

Sanders has a similar opportunity now. As pundits are voicing alleged ecstasy over Hillary Clinton "shattering the glass ceiling" by becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major political party, the first female president in Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, has been ousted in a defacto coup. This has been fostered by establishment media in Brazil, as for-profit media often plays the role of king maker in ways stark and subtle in every country, including the U.S., as we've seen in this current election. 

Rousseff's cabinet was diverse, both in terms of gender and ethnically. The new government is all white males. Rousseff was set to investigate corruption, including in the Brazilian Senate, and the coup was planned out by corrupt senators. Indeed, the anticorruption minister in the new coup government was recently forced to resign when a tape was leaked about how he was trying to cover up corruption. All this and more is being done with U.S. government silence and tacit support. 

Certainly, Sanders has challenged the power of Wall Street and the wealthy from within the Democratic Party. But, largely because of the role of the media in fostering a mantle of celebrity around Hillary Clinton (and Donald Trump for that matter), they are the likely nominees.

But perhaps, for all the good that Sanders did, he might feel a measure of remorse for what he hasn't done: Spoken serious about the U.S. government's role in the world. Even in his discussions of inequality, he's confined himself to inequality inside the U.S. But what about global poverty? 

Has Sanders been moved by slums in Latin America? Refugee camps in the Mideast? Stark poverty in Africa? Sweatshops in Asia? He went to a Vatican conference where Bolivian President Evo Morales also spoke. They chatted. What can be built from that? How can progressive leaders work together globally? How can movements cross boundaries? Are not movements weakened when they confine themselves to national barriers? 

Ali took himself out of his comfort zone. He focused not just on getting a seat on a bus for himself, and not just for African Americans, but spoke against the Vietnam War. Sanders has not transcended himself. As Ben Jealous has said, Sanders "has been giving the same damn speech for 50 years." Well, that's not necessarily a good thing. There are people living in horrible conditions around the world, in large part because of economic, political and military policies determined in facade marble buildings in Washington, D.C. Sanders has been remarkably mute about that. 

The power of the establishment rests in large part because of its global connections. But progressive forces have been reluctant to wield such power. Recall shortly before the invasion of Iraq, there were quasi-global protests against the war on Feb. 15, 2003. Just after that, the New York Times called the peace movement "the second super power." Yes, that didn't stop the war, but that was because there was only some global solidarity late in the day. The answer is more solidarity sooner. 

And now, Sanders has campaigned in all 50 states. It's late in the day, but not too late for him to break the wall and seriously engage the rest of the world. That should start with going to Brazil and meeting with Rousseff. It would help overturn the coup, thus doing a tremendous service to the people of Brazil and it would put the heat on the U.S. government regarding its behind the scenes machinations. It would also highlight the fake feminism that surrounds the Clinton campaign. Do we want women in officialdom simply so that they can be a murderous and corrupt as men have been? Or do we want a different kind of politics that is inclusive in terms of gender, but that is based on solidarity and uplift rather than "I got mine"? 

Clinton's crimes on foreign policy constitute quite a rap sheet. Sanders has at best scratched the surface. From bombing Libya, to voting for the Iraq war, to backing Netanyahu, to backing the Honduran coup and responsibility for the killing of Berta Cáceres, it's a gruesome tail that few have really come to grips with. 

And perhaps Sanders, struck by fear of Trump, desperately wants to look away. He doesn't want a sun rise, he wants a sunset. Does he want to be a pawn in the Clinton machine? See the roles that other past "insurgent" candidates play now: Howard Dean, Jesse Jackson, Dennis Kucinich. They played the role of what Bruce Dixon has called "sheepdogging" -- they ended up being little more than a tool of the Democratic Party establishment to get presumably serious progressives to end up supporting an increasingly pro-corporate Democratic Party. That same fate of accessory or marginalization awaits Sanders. 

Now, the consultants and "advisers" he's meeting with this weekend are probably pushing Sanders to accept what bread crumbs he can get from Clinton & Co. After all, they have their careers to think about, and their careers are with the Democratic Party machine or some appendage of it. 

But real power, real greatness, doesn't come from accepting such a role. That's why we remember the name Muhammad Ali and forget many, many others. 

#BernieAndBoom

The dissent within the Democratic Party that Sen. Bernie Sanders has sparked needs somewhere to go. 

It should go in a direction that doesn't back Clinton -- and doesn't help Trump. 

That seems like you can't do both those things, but you can if you parse it through and do some real work. 

That energy should not go to backing Hillary Clinton: We've been down that road before. Gov. Howard Dean was the ostensible "anti war" candidate in 2004, he got folded into the campaign of John Kerry, who was "for the war before he was against it." Dean promised a movement in "Democracy for America" and it's not delivered much so far as I can tell. It's difficult to believe that Sanders, after his likely endorsement of Clinton, will be in much of position to meaningfully change policy in a Clinton administration. Note that even Sanders' position on many issues, especially foreign policy, were at best weak tea. At best, realistically speaking, millions of Sanders supporters falling behind Clinton now will result in a hollowness and crumbs. 

That energy should not go toward helping Trump: Some of Sanders' backers have been rallying around "Bernie or Bust." While I appreciate the sentiment, it needs to be more strategic than that. Many progressives and other supporters of Sanders correctly note that giving up on the electoral system, or voting third party when someone has a preference for Clinton over Trump, can be self defeating. Of course, if someone has equal distaste for Trump and Clinton, then one can simply vote for any independent candidate of their choice, but the reality is that many will feel compelled to vote for Clinton because they so fear and loath Trump -- just as many will feel drawn to voting for Trump because of hatred toward Clinton. 

How to resolve this?

What I suggest at VotePact.org for Sanders supporters to do now: Reach out to Republicans in your life. Make a pact: You vote for an independent party candidate, like the Greens (Jill Stein is the likely nominee) or a socialist candidate and your Republican friend, relative, co-worker, whatever, votes for some candidate other than Trump. They can vote for the Libertarian (they just launched their Gary Johnson - William Weld ticket, both former Republican governors) or the Constitution party. 

This way, you both get your political freedom. You're free of voting for Clinton with all of her lies and hypocrisies, her wars and Wall Street ties. And your friend is free of any compulsion to vote for Trump with all of this misogyny and racism. 

People throughout history have risked their lives and fortunes for a measure of political freedom. It should not be beyond the capacities of Sanders supporters and would-be Republicans to team up and both vote against the corruptions of Clinton and Trump. 

The U.S. public is now trapped by two incredibly distasteful figures. They can continue to fuel the hatred between the two of them -- and that mostly benefits Clinton and Trump, or they can have honest dialogues with people in their own life. Fueling the hatred virtually ensures perpetual servitude to the worst elements of each of the establishment political parties. 

It should not be #BernieOrBust. It should be #BernieAndBoom. The dissent that he has begun to articulate on the national stage against a system rigged to benefit the one percent need not choose between two figures of that "one percent."

Sanders say he wants a revolution. This is a revolution. It can take place in every living room, in every car pool, in every chat room, in every pool room. People who know and trust and love each other can come together and both reject the billionaire system, the perpetual wars and the racism. 

Instead of people cancelling out each others votes -- one voting for Clinton because they fear, Trump and another voting for Trump because they hate Clinton, they can revitalize U.S. democracy in an unprecedented way. They can use their bond, their love and their trust to overcome the hatred and fear that the corrupt duopoly uses to enslave them. 

It will take work. It will take maturity. People will have to have an honest conversation with people they disagree with. People will have to not dismiss their friend's views. People will have to hear others out. But at least they'll be people authentically articulating their beliefs, not endless talking points by political hacks. It could be a revolution of the heart far beyond what Sanders has spoken of so far: #BernieAndBoom!

Tim Canova's Statements Are Even More Pro-Israel than Wasserman Schultz

Congressional candidate Tim Canova, a professor of law and public finance, is widely depicted as being a progressive challenger to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Wasserman Schultz of course chairs the Democratic National Committee and has rightly come in for lots of criticism on a host of issues. 

Canova was recently endorsed by Bernie Sanders. Sanders, at the New York debate with Hillary Clinton in April had showed some minimal concern for rights of Palestinians, rare in U.S. politics, saying that Israel's attack on Gaza was "disproportionate." 

Recently however, on MSNBC, Canova criticized Wasserman Schultz for being unreliable on a host of issues, then added: "even support for Israel, people don't know where she stands." 

The subject of Israel doesn't come up in many pieces on Canova, including his lengthy interview with Glenn Greenwald early this year. 

As the Jewish Daily Forward recently noted: "when it comes to Israel and the Middle East, Canova is trying to take on Wasserman Schultz from the right."

Canova's website states he "visited Israel many times ... returning to his former kibbutz as a volunteer time and again, and participating in workshops on citizenship, war, and counter-terrorism at Tel Aviv University."

He's also adopted an extremely anti-Iran position. Writes AP: "Despite the big fundraising haul, Canova faces a daunting task to defeat a strong a Jewish Democratic incumbent in a district dominated by Jewish and Hispanic voters, where U.S. relations with Israel and Cuba are debated as often as jobs and the economy. ... Canova supports ending the U.S. embargo on Cuba but believes it must be done 'in stages.' He said 'trade liberalization needs political liberalization.' He thinks the landmark Iran nuclear agreement was filled with 'holes' and that it was wrong to give Iran access to $100 billion in frozen assets." 

Canova has said: "I would like to see a Palestinian state, [but] to me, I don't see how you have one as long as all of these neighbors of Israel still don't recognize its right to exist ... as long as Iran is still funding Hamas, [as long as] Saudi Arabia has telethons for families of suicide bombers!"

In contrast, apparently Saudi Arabia's misogyny, authoritarianism, blood soaked interventions and invasions and fine with Canova. Well, the same would seem to be true regarding Israel's bigotry and carnage. 

I should note I use the term "pro-Israel" with implied scare quotes. An increasingly aggressive Israel could be "successful" in perpetuating oppression. And it could be disastrous for many, including many of the Jewish citizens of Israel. 

The funny part is that I've promoted Canova on Institute for Public Accuracy news releases. But then again, unlike lots of folks, I try not to have a litmus test for people. I try to put people on news releases for what they're best at. And Canova seems sharp and good on financial issues, so I use him on that without prejudice for how is when it comes to Israel. 

It often doesn't work the other way. I've had odd looks for working with "rightwingers" on some issues. I find that there's often a whole series of double standards associated with that. If you only want to work with people who agree with you across the board, fine. Do that. If you're flexible about who you work with, fine, do that. But there's something really wrong when people have a litmus test sometimes, but not others. 

Layers of Islamophobia: Rep. Ellison Says He's Unaware of Clinton Having Returned "Muslim Money"

At a news conference Tuesday, I asked Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and André Carson (D-Ind.) about Hillary Clinton's having returned money from Muslims and refusing to meet with Arab and Muslim groups in her 2000 Senate run. 

Rep. Ellison indicated he didn't know about the controversy and -- while stressing his backing for Sen. Bernie Sanders, argued that Clinton was someone who has done outreach to the Muslim community. Carson lauded her as the "most traveled" secretary of state. 

Ellison and Carson, Congress' only Muslim members, spoke at the at National Press Club to discuss "Islamophobia and Hateful Rhetoric Directed At Muslims." [See video of their response, full video (33:00) and transcript below.]

Their opening remarks focused on Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Newt Gingrich, Peter King -- all Republicans. 

I had gone into the event wanting to question the manner in which they spoke -- or declined to speak -- about U.S. foreign policy. More on that later. 

But, their emphasis on Republican transgressions, some going back to previous election cycles, I thought it important to raise the issue of Clinton's actions and asked if there wasn't anti-Muslim sentiment in the Democratic Party as well. 

I cited a recent piece by Rania Khalek, in which she writes: 

Back in 2000, during a heated U.S. Senate race in New York, Clinton came under attack for accepting political contributions from Muslim groups whose members were targets of a smear campaign generated by one of the Islamophobia industry’s most discredited operatives.

Without hesitation, Clinton condemned her Muslim supporters, returned their donations and refused to meet with Arab and Muslim Americans for the remainder of her campaign... 

Ellison said: "I’m not aware of the incident. ... When she came to Minnesota she specifically reached out to the Muslim community and had a sit down and talked about anti-Muslim hate. ... I also know that years ago when she was Secretary of State, the Black Caucus had a meeting with her and she had recently appointed a special envoy to Muslim communities, you know -- Farah Pandith -- and she sat Andre and I right next to Farah because she wanted to make sure we were talking and comparing notes."

Presuming he was being forthright, it says something about Ellison's information flow that he would not have been aware of the controversy.

He mentioned Farah Pandith. According to her bio at the Kennedy School of Government, "Special Representative Pandith served as the Director for Middle East Regional Initiatives for the National Security Council from December 2004 to February 2007, where she was responsible for coordinating U.S. policy on 'Muslim World' Outreach and the Broader Middle East North Africa initiative." 

Pandith reported to Elliot Abrams at the Bush National Security Council, who is well known for his longtime backing of U.S. wars in the Mideast and Latin America. 

Ellison stated that Clinton has "not in any way contributed to anti-Muslim hate. In fact Huma Abedin is one of her closest aides and Huma has been the target of anti-Muslim hate herself."

Ellison's defense of Clinton -- and by extension the Democratic Party, since I specifically asked about that, was noteworthy. At another point in the event, he talked about how every community was guilty of bigotry to some extent. 

Carson, who supports Clinton over Sanders, stated that while Clinton was recently in Indianapolis, "We helped to ensure that Muslims were not only there, they were part of the process. And there were a group of Syrian-Americans who had a moment with Secretary Clinton. ... She is the most traveled Secretary of state in U.S. history. ... Whenever I go to embassies that have Muslim ambassadors they talk about the bridge building that was done under her leadership as Secretary of State. ... [Clinton] has a special sensitivity as it relates to issues impacting the Muslim community. As it relates to unwanted surveillance ... Once she becomes president you will see Muslims in very important positions in her cabinet."

It seems at best incredibly paltry: "Part of the process." Syrian-Americans "had a moment." "A moment" to discuss the fate of their country of origin. Which Syrian-Americans? Doubtlessly, there are some who want more U.S. intervention of the sort that brought disaster to Libya -- which Clinton oversaw and Ellison himself backed at the time. Glen Ford has noted that Ellison has also backed a "no fly" zone in Syria. 

Though she's at times criticized Republicans for scapegoating Muslims, CNN reported: "Clinton calls for more surveillance, police after Brussels attacks." 

I actually asked the first question after their opening remarks. I had hoped that I'd get another question later about U.S. foreign policy after they had staked out their positions on foreign policy in response to other questions. However, I did not get another question in. 

The deeper issue is the manner in which the question of "Islamophobia" is being dealt with: It largely excludes discussion of U.S. foreign policy, the dehumanization of Muslim lives lost, especially in U.S. attacks. 

At the event, Ellison stressed that most of the victims of Daesh [ISIL] were Muslims, which is of course true, but it leaves out that most of the victims of U.S. foreign policy are Muslims -- and that U.S. foreign policy has helped foster Al-Qaeda and ISIS and other sectarian groups. 

You have Carson talking about how Muslim officials in embassies -- almost invariably of tyrannical regimes -- speak fondly of Clinton. This seems at best a dubious badge of honor. 

Rep. Carson spoke in his other remarks of being on the House Intelligence Committee. He also spoke of his time growing up and being critical of law enforcement. I've criticized anti-Muslim bias for over twenty years, but a tacit bargain seems to have been struck whereby Muslims are "tolerated" -- so long as they do not seriously critique U.S. foreign policy, and those who go along with it most will clearly be rewarded most by those who control U.S. foreign policy. Indeed, the subtext of some of Carson's remarks is that such Muslims will be rewarded with plum positions for their apologetics. 

The tension here is critical. While some who have written about Islamophobia see a meaningful resolution in incorporation of Muslims into the West, this tends to ignore the incredible violence of U.S. foreign policy. For example, John Feffer, who I know and like personally, recently wrote "Sadiq Khan and the End of Islamophobia" about the recent mayoral race in London. 

There is real danger of a line of thinking that in effect charts a course of Muslims being accepted in the West in a manner that neuters any meaningful crit of foreign policy. It's a course that explicitly or implicitly folds in the Muslim community rather than using it as a messenger to meaningful open up the Western societies in terms of challenging and ending their aggressive foreign policies and bring about a more peaceful world. 

In fact, this course is incredibly dangerous because it leads to the impression of having a global dialogue when none is actually taking place about the most critical issues of U.S. government violence. 

As Arun Kundnani has argued: “The promise of the ‘war on terror’ was that we would kill them ‘over there’ so they would not kill us ‘over here.’ Hence mass violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Yemen, and Somalia -- in the name of peace in the West. The ‘Authorization to Use Military Force’ that the U.S. Congress passed in the days after 9/11 already defined the whole world as a battlefield in the ‘war on terror’. President Obama continues to rely on the authorization to give his drone-killing program a veneer of legality. This is the old colonial formula of liberal values at home sustained by a hidden illiberalism in the periphery -- where routine extra-judicial killing is normalized.”

The remarks of Malcolm X -- whose birthday just passed -- and his view of the course of African Americans in the U.S. is relevant: “They have a new gimmick every year. They’re going to take one of their boys, black boys, and put him in the cabinet so he can walk around Washington with a cigar. Fire on one end and fool on the other end. And because his immediate personal problem will have been solved he will be the one to tell our people: ‘Look how much progress we’re making. I’m in Washington, D.C., I can have tea in the White House. I’m your spokesman, I’m your leader.’ While our people are still living in Harlem in the slums. Still receiving the worst form of education."

Transcript: 

Sam Husseini: You’ve mentioned Trump and Cruz and Carson. I think all the names that you mentioned are Republicans that you feel are guilty of some form of Islamophobia. Rania Khalek, an Arab-American writer recently had a piece recounting that in her 2000 run, Hillary Clinton -- after there were allegations that she was taking quote-unquote Muslim money -- returned the money and refused to meet with members of the Muslim-American and Arab community. How do you respond to something like that? Is the Democratic party itself clear of Islamophobic sentiment as well? 

Keith Ellison: I can only speak on what I know about -- and I’m a Bernie supporter. And I support Bernie running all the way through the election. And -- but have to be honest and tell you I’m not aware of that, right?

Husseini: You don't know about this?

Ellison: Well I’m not aware of the incident. I’ll tell you what I’m aware of I know that when she came to Minneapolis, Minnesota -- and this is just being fair and honest. When she came to Minnesota she specifically reached out to the Muslim community and had a sit down and talked about anti-Muslim hate. I know about that. 

I also know that years ago when she was Secretary of State, the black caucus had a meeting with her and she had recently appointed a special envoy to Muslim communities, you know -- Farah Pandith -- and she sat Andre and I right next to Farah because she wanted to make sure we were talking and comparing notes.

Now, I don’t want to say something didn’t happen when I don’t know -- when I don't have information. But I can say that if that did happen there’s weight with her reaching out as well.

Again, I’m not trying to discredit anyone’s experience, I don’t have any information on it. But I can tell you she did some things and has not in any way contributed to anti-Muslim hate. In fact Huma Abedin is one of her closest aides and Huma has been the target of anti-Muslim hate herself and I have never sensed that Secretary Clinton is backing herself away from her association with Huma Abedin. So.

Again, I’m a Bernie guy. I'm standing up there -- if you wanna talk who should be president I believe it’s Bernie Sanders, but fair’s fair and true’s true and she has no record that I’m aware of of anti-Muslim hate.

Andre Carson: As a Clinton guy (laughter)

Ellison: Did I mention that ---?

Carson: As Keith stated, one of her chief advisers and closest confidants is Huma Abedin who is phenomenal. She’s a friend of mine. Secretary Clinton was in Indianapolis a few weeks ago. We helped to ensure that Muslims were not only there, they were part of the process. And there were a group of Syrian-Americans who had a moment with Secretary Clinton. If you look at her history as not only as first lady of Arkansas but first lady of the United States of America, and even Secretary of State. She is the most traveled Secretary of state in U.S. history. Let’s make that clear. 

Whenever I go to embassies that have Muslim ambassadors they talk about the bridge building that was done under her leadership as Secretary of State. When I go to Muslim communities across the country and communities are divided -- some are Feeling the Bern and some like me are climbing up that Hill. But they respect Secretary Clinton because she has a special sensitivity as it relates to issues impacting the Muslim community. As it relates to unwanted surveillance as it relates to outright discrimination. And I believe and we can talk about this later, that once she becomes president you will see Muslims in very important positions in her cabinet.

Against Greenwald Resigning to Public "Suffering" of Trump and Clinton

Speaking of likely nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the writer Glenn Greenwald ended his appearance on the program "Democracy Now" this morning thus: "These are the two most unpopular presidential candidates ever to run, I think, in 30 years. They have the highest unfavorable ratings of any nominees in decades. The only thing they’re able to do to one another is try and be as toxic and nasty and destructive as possible, because everybody has already decided, more or less, that they’re so unlikable. And so, it’s going to be the opposite of an inspiring election. It’s just going to be two extremely unpopular people trying to destroy the other on both a personal level, backed by huge amounts of money and serving more or less the same interests."

Now, I could quibble with parts of that (I think there's a limit to how nasty they can or will be towards each other in some ways given that they represent, as Greenwald rightly states, more or less the same interests), but on balance, I think that's a fair summary of the situation.

Unfortunately, Greenwald then in a subtle but critical way goes off track: "I think the two parties and the establishment leaders in Washington, and the people who support and run that whole system, have gotten exactly the election that they deserve. Unfortunately, Americans are going to have to suffer along with them."

I think Greenwald is wrong on both these points and I think it's central to how one views politics. Perhaps upon reflection Greenwald -- who speaks in a rapid, engaging style -- will agree. 

First off, the people who support and run the whole system are not getting the election they "deserve". They're getting the election they largely wanted. One "choice" -- despite some anti-establishment rhetoric -- is a billionaire who indicates that he's a xenophobic misogynist who at times doesn't want a minimum wage at all. The other, by all serious indications, is the leading pro-war corporate elitist. That seems to be a no lose proposition to the establishment. The public would seem to be trapped in this system because so many people find each of them so repulsive. 

But that's exactly the more critical problem with Greenwald's statement. The general public does not "have to suffer along with them." The general public can and should organize themselves in response to these choices given. If people feel equally repelled by both, then there has never been a better time to boldly vote for a third party candidate: Green, Libertarian, etc.  

If a voter finds either Trump or Clinton to be a "lesser evil" -- then the voter can team up with their political "mirror image" and both, as a pair, vote for the third party candidates of their choice. That's what I suggest at VotePact.org. This way, a "disenchanted Democrat" and "disenchanted Republican" who know and trust each other can break out of their partisan boxes and siphon off votes in pairs. They wouldn't change the balance between Clinton and Trump, but they would build up other emerging parties and candidates. 

Much of the discussion on the program Greenwald was on was about the pacifist priest Daniel Berrigan, who recently died. Despite his religious orientation, which might lead to some acceptance of suffering (Berrigan once commented if you want to follow Jesus, you should "look good on wood"), I would hope Berrigan would not be one to embrace "suffering" two bad choices needlessly. I'd think that Berrigan would want to find a way to bridge the two party divide -- which is supported by little more than fear and hate -- and have people who may disagree come together against such bondage with understanding. 

Could Voters Opposed to Both Clinton and Trump Team up Using VotePact?

There's a solution to the predicament most of the U.S. will be facing between now and November: Liberals, progressives and others disenchanted with the likely Democratic nominee and conservatives disenchanted with the likely Republican nominee can to pair up and each vote for the candidates they genuinely want.

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have incredibly high negatives. Most people don't agree with, like or trust either. In a political system responsive to the public, an alternative with broad support would emerge if they become the nominees, as seems increasingly likely.
 
Unfortunately, in our system -- which enshrines the dominance of the two establishment parties -- the negatives of each end up perversely being the basis of support for the other. Voters end up being trapped by the very unpopularity of the candidates. The main things holding the system together are fear and hate -- even as the candidates claim to be bringing people together.
 
That is, most people supporting Clinton are not doing so because they view her as upstanding, wise or just. They support her because they fear and despise Trump and his misogyny, racism and temperament.
 
And the same largely goes for Trump. His supporters back him because they detest the establishment of the Republican Party as well as Clinton, who shares so much with that very Republican establishment even as she postures as a newly born progressive.
 
So, voters could end up just cancelling each other out -- one voting for Clinton and one voting for Trump, with neither being happy. But if voters who know and trust each other -- relatives, coworkers, neighbors, debating partners -- team up and vote for their preferred candidates (be they Green, Libertarian, Socialist, Independent, etc.), then they can begin to break out of the prison of the two party system. And if they do this in pairs (forming a VotePact), they can do it without the risk of helping the candidate they want the least.
 
Politicians make such alliances all the time -- witness the recent alliance between Ted Cruz and John Kasich against Trump. But voters need to do this with a level of integrity and honest dialogue that's alien to the political class. It's well past time that the public vote strategically instead of continuing to be the perpetual play thing of the duopoly.
 
Certainly there are schisms in each establishment party. Bernie Sanders has made some of those evident on the Democratic Party side, especially in his forthright critique of the healthcare system, Wall Street domination and increasing economic inequality.
 
And Trump has made some indications on foreign policy which break from perpetual war orthodoxy and embraces some populist rhetoric. How genuine that is however, is questionable. It's possible that it's no more sincere than Clinton's new-found stated opposition to undemocratic corporate-backed deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Husseini is founder of VotePact.org. [This piece is based on a news release from the Institute for Public Accuracy.]