In this mailing: Alan M. Dershowitz: The Squalid "Squad" Is Trying to Destroy Bipartisan Support for Israel Pete Hoekstra: We May Have Left Afghanistan, Mr. President, But We Are Still at War The Squalid "Squad" Is Trying to Destroy Bipartisan Support for Israel by Alan M. Dershowitz  •  September 23, 2021 at 5:00 am       The fact that the Squad picked on the Iron Dome to make its stand against Israel is significant. The Iron Dome is a system developed jointly by the United States and Israel that is purely defensive. It does not kill, injure, or threaten anyone. It only protects civilians against war crimes committed by terrorist groups that direct lethal rockets against innocent civilians. The fact that the Squad would try to deny Israel the right to defend its civilians speaks volumes about the lack of morality and decency among Squad members and their allies. It follows from this effort that the Squad will oppose any and all aid to Israel, including protecting its innocent civilians against Iran's nuclear threat. The obvious goal of Squad members is to deny Israel the right to defend itself against aggression. At least one of its members has denied that Israel has the right to exist. These bigoted actions directly violate the platform of the Democratic Party (as well as that of the Republican Party). The Democratic Party must decide whether it will become captive to its most extreme wing or whether it will marginalize these radicals who are not only anti-Israel but, in many ways, anti-American. They are intolerant of dissent and due process for those who disagree with them. They are anti-police, anti-military, and anti-free market economy. The time has come, indeed it is long past, for the Democratic leadership to stand strong against the anti-American, anti-Israel and anti-decency squalid Squad. The leadership can no longer stand idly by the bigotry of their members. If they persist in tolerating the intolerable, they will lose the support of the all-important mainstream voters. The "Squad" is a small group of radical members of the U.S. House of Representatives who run for Congress under the banner of the Democratic Party but do not reflect its mainstream policies. The fact that the Squad would try to deny Israel the right to defend its civilians speaks volumes about the lack of morality and decency among Squad members and their allies. Pictured: Four members of the Squad, from left to right, Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2019. (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images) The "Squad" is a small group of radical members of the U.S. House of Representatives who run for Congress under the banner of the Democratic Party but do not reflect its mainstream policies. They represent niche districts that are not typical of the Democratic base. They could not be elected in any statewide race, because they lack widespread support. They were nominated because of low turnout in primaries and were elected because their districts are overwhelmingly Democrat. They are fringe Democrats who should not have influence beyond their districts. But the House leadership of the Democratic Party has exaggerated their significance and given them more power than they deserve. Continue Reading Article We May Have Left Afghanistan, Mr. President, But We Are Still at War by Pete Hoekstra  •  September 23, 2021 at 4:00 am       I never liked that term, "war on terror." Terrorism is a tactic; it is not the enemy we fought every day. The term has done more to confuse us than enlighten us. [O]ne can see why the phrase "war on terror" became the widely accepted nomenclature. It was neutral. Gone would be the difficult references connecting the terrorist movement to Islam and Muslims. The need to define good Muslims versus bad/extremist Muslims would be eliminated. We would just paper over the difficult discussions that needed to take place but did not. The terrorists, and their Islamist apologists in the West, actually used our response to their benefit. They widely labeled those who tried to connect al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations to Islamic dogma as Islamophobes and anti-Muslim. It did not matter that the terrorists invoked Quranic passages as justification, or that groups such as ISIS and others explicitly state that their ultimate objective is a global Muslim state governed by religious law. President Biden can say what he wants but that does not mean it is so. The other side has a say in this. And as we saw as we were leaving Kabul, the jihadists spoke clearly, they are still at war with us. If the crack team of foreign advisers that the president is relying on, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, advised him that the United States is no longer at war, the world is in serious trouble. On Tuesday, Joe Biden presented his first UN General Assembly speech as president, and proclaimed: "I stand here today for the first time in 20 years with the United States not at war." It was an odd boast, considering how the United States left Afghanistan and what it means for the future. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz-Pool/Getty Images) On Tuesday, Joe Biden presented his first United Nations General Assembly speech as president. I labored through almost 32 minutes of the speech when a most profound announcement was proclaimed: "I stand here today for the first time in 20 years with the United States not at war." It was an odd boast, considering how the United States left Afghanistan and what it means for the future. Our retreat from the Afghanistan battlefield left behind thousands of friends and allies and billions of dollars' worth of equipment. We were never at war with Afghanistan. Our enemy was – and continues to be – individuals who take inspiration from a strict interpretation of Islam and employ terrorist tactics to press their cause. Continue Reading Article