Washington, January 14: US senators have called on the Pentagon to tighten the screening of Muslim American soldiers amid fears that they could attack fellow soldiers.
Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Joe Lieberman, and the panel’s top Republican, Senator Susan Collins, called for the overhaul in a letter to the Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The US military should train soldiers, “from enlisted personnel to commanders,” to recognize and report “the warning signs of violent Islamist extremism,” AFP reported, quoting the Connecticut senator.
A self-described orthodox Jew, Senator Liberman is a staunch ally of Israel and has been forced out of the Democratic Party for his pro-war stances during the Bush Administration.
Meanwhile, the committee spokesperson, Leslie Phillips, defined ‘Islamist extremism’ as viewing ‘Jihadi websites or reading jihadi literature.’
‘Jihadi’ is a term invented by the American neo-conservatives and other far-right political pundits that Muslim organizations in the US find offensive and derogatory. It is used to refer to any Muslim that does not see Islam according to what the US government has described as ‘moderate Islam.’
Other ‘signs of extremism’ include making statements that show a service member’s loyalty to fellow Muslims first, or demonstrate his or her obligation to refrain from killing Muslims and to disobey any related orders, she added.
The latest congressional committee’s move comes in the wake of a November 5 shooting incident at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, which left 13 military personnel killed and 42 others wounded.
——-Agencies