http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-defense-idUSKBN0TR1KY20151210

So we want Muslim phobic guys like these to be the leader of the free world?

The primrose path to homeland security advocated by Donald Trump and fellow travelers is simple: keep out Muslims, all of them, or even carpet bomb them. Fear is like a blindfold on a runner.  It keeps those driven by fear from seeing the ruts and roots that will trip them up.

 Here are some of the obstacles on the path to greater security. Key to reaching the goal of greater homeland security is to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Nearly all  of both political parties agree to succeed  we need  to form a coalition of regional Arabs, Turks, and Shia Iraqis to do the ground fighting in Syria and to bring along our European allies in a support role. The president we elect must also be the leader in creating that coalition, already difficult when those we want to join have conflicting goals. Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and his ilk have made coalition building a mission impossible. So we want Muslim phobic guys like these to be the leader of the free world to fight ISIS?

Trump has already alienated the allies he professes he needs to lead in a coalition. He would be a leader with few followers.  Ted Cruz’s proposal “ bomb ISIS to oblivion” and the resulting death to civilians would lead to world- wide outrage . Imagine what that would look like on CNN.

To put together that kind of coalition requires strong leadership from the US and Trump has become a persona non grata to those we need most to form a coalition. His anti- Muslim rhetoric has already made him unwelcome in Israel and Jordan and he had to cancel both trips to those countries.  His ban also received negative reactions from China to our Middle East allies to Europe. His proposal to keep Muslims out of the US created such a backlash in Britain, half a million Brits in a few days signed a petition to ban him from setting foot on the United Kingdom.

Religious tests for admission to the US  to determine who is not a Muslim would  dim the lights of the shining city on the hill that that makes us exceptional and admired for our secular laws protecting  civil rights, regardless of race or religion. It would require verification of non- Muslim identity that by necessity is based on someone’s word to the immigration officer.  Chiming in were other candidates, even reasonable Jeb Bush, who wanted to admit only Christian Syrians, making it necessary to subject them to the same religious tests.

Those are public relations nightmares that would  increase anger on the Muslim streets and their leaders veritying  that the US is officially  against the billions of Muslims around the world when only a fraction of Muslims world-wide subscribe to that death cult of violent jihadism. It would destroy the trust and credibility of the US when diplomacy and coalition building are key to our national security.

For more on who are Muslim  jihadists and who are not, see the post March 11,2015, Why a World View Matters. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-defense-idUSKBN0TR1KY20151210

http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/12/10/trumps-upcoming-israel-visit-puts-netanyahu-in-a-bind

Also, see post on 2/23/15 New winds blowing in the Middle East in our fight against ISIS