WHEN POLITICAL CORRECTNESS TRUMPS NATIONAL SECURITY

WHEN POLITICAL CORRECTNESS TRUMPS NATIONAL SECURITY:

. . . you get a presidential election cycle such as 2016. Americans’ pushback against “political correctness gone wild” is manifesting itself in multiple ways this election cycle, including most notably issues relating to national security, such as immigration.  The latest illustration is the Department of Homeland Security’s decision not to view visa applicant’s social media activity for fear of “bad public relations”:

“[I]mmigration officials were not allowed to use or view social media as part of the screening process,” John Cohen, a former under-secretary at DHS for intelligence and analysis, told ABC News, where he now works as a national security consultant. . . .
According to Cohen, who left DHS in June 2014, officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pushed for a change to DHS’ social media policy but were met with resistance from top brass.
“Immigration, security, law enforcement officials recognized at the time that it was important to more extensively review public social media postings because they offered potential insights into whether somebody was an extremist or potentially connected to a terrorist organization or a supporter of the movement,” Cohen told ABC News during a segment on “Good Morning America.” . . .
According to Cohen, who left DHS in June 2014, officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pushed for a change to DHS’ social media policy but were met with resistance from top brass.
“Immigration, security, law enforcement officials recognized at the time that it was important to more extensively review public social media postings because they offered potential insights into whether somebody was an extremist or potentially connected to a terrorist organization or a supporter of the movement,” Cohen told ABC News during a segment on “Good Morning America.” . . .
“It was primarily a question of optics,” said Cohen. “There were concerns from a privacy and civil liberties perspective that while this was not illegal, that it would be viewed negatively if it was disclosed publicly.”
Another former counter-terrorism official cosigned Cohen’s frustration.
“Why the State Department and Homeland Security Department have not leveraged the power of social media is beyond me.” . . .

The female San Bernardino terrorist, Tashfeen Malik apparently posted anti-American and pro-terrorism rants on her Facebook page. Her sister, Fehda Malik, has posted similar comments as well, but told the New York Slimes Times that her sister was not an extremist, was “very religious” and was a person who “knew what was right and what was wrong.” Um, yeah, right.
Just last week, an agent with U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center told Megyn Kelly that an investigation into San Bernardino terrorist Syed Farook’s California mosque was shut down–and all files deleted–due to the Obama Administration’s desire not to “profile” Islamic groups.
Americans are a tolerant and welcoming people, but they don’t lack commonsense. When P.C. goes wild–crossing the line from “I will go along because I don’t want to offend you” to “I will go along even if it endangers national security”–most Americans will demand change. It is the first (and really only) duty of government to keep us safe. Politicians who seem to understand this basic concept will continue to surge.

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