Muslim soldier fought for America and his faith (Colin Powell)

McClatchy via Yahoo! News ^ | Tue Oct 21, 7:25 pm ET | By Nancy A. Youssef, McClatchy Newspapers Nancy A. Youssef, Mcclatchy Newspapers

[F15Eagle]

WASHINGTON — "Joe the Plumber" was only one of two Americans injected into the presidential election this past week. The other was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan , whom former Secretary of State Colin Powell invoked in his endorsement Sunday of Barack Obama .

Khan was a 20-year-old soldier from Manahawkin, N.J. , who wanted to enlist in the Army from the time he was 10. He was an all-American boy who visited Disney World after he completed his training at Fort Benning, Ga. , and made his comrades in Iraq watch "Saving Private Ryan" every week.

He was also a Muslim who joined the military, his father said, in part to show his countrymen that not all Muslims are terrorists.

"He was an American soldier first," said his father, Feroze Khan . "But he also looked at fighting in this war as fighting for his faith. He was fighting radicalism."

[F15Eagle]

OK, at risk of taking some flames, while I appreciate this young soldier's service and am sorry to hear that he died, I just find it kinda *odd* that Powell is coming out with this, this particular week, juxtaposed against "Joe the Plumber".

Yes, Powell speaks Yiddish(?) but I'm wondering if he noted any Jewish soldiers serving in the U.S. military.

And no, I'm not Jewish. I just find the timing curious. Maybe it's just me.

[F15Eagle]

thoughts?

[Cindy]

“Thoughts?”

My thoughts are simple.

I appreciate ALL who serve and protect our country both at home and abroad.
To each and everyone I say, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

[Harry Wurzbach]

Who exactly is Powell playing to, here?

[F15Eagle]

Agreed. I appreciate it too. I’m just wondering why Powell brought it up at this particular time. The week of his endorsement of Obama, less than two weeks before the election.

[gwilhelm56]

I’ve lost all confidence in Colin Powell, but his MUSLIM SOB STORY doesn’t cut it.
I thank the young man for his service and my condolensces to his family, but as a political football ...

SHAME ON YOU POWELL
Go kiss your Commisar’s BUTT and go away.

[Bahbah]

Powell wants to be politically correct?

I regret the loss of this young man and the sorrow of his family at that loss in the service of this country.

We just are not bigotted haters as much as Powell wanted to imply that we are.

[F15Eagle]

Exactly what I’m wondering. When islamic suicide bombers were killing Israelis, he labeled it “the cycle of violence” when the Israelis took out terrorists, terrorist factories and their leaders.

That was the end of whatever respect I might have had for Colin Powell.

[rwilson99]

Why on earth does Secretary Powell want this young man to die in vain, due to the retreat of our forces from Iraq?

[fso301]

Sorry about Khan but he is one of how many?

[Cindy]

I don’t find it odd.

Here’s an informative thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2111620/posts

[cripplecreek]

As long as duty and country come first to the soldier, he’s fine with me.

As for timing. Politics is politics.

[albie]

Screw Powell. As Rush said, “name some liberal whites that you’ve endorsed”! It IS a BLACK THANG.

[F15Eagle]

I’ll go ahead and say it. If Powell eventually declares he’s converted, it won’t surprise me one bit.

[Harry Wurzbach]

Are we basically going to !@#$ the Saudi’s !@#$? I mean, we have been doing that for some time, but it looks like something even nastier is going to come before us.

[F15Eagle]

As Rush said, “name some liberal whites that you’ve endorsed”!

Good point.

[HawaiianGecko]

It makes you wonder what is the point of the article.  Is he trying to get the people that erroneously believe Obama is a Muslim to vote for him?  Doesn't make sense, but then neither does the high percentage of people that believe Obama is a Muslim.

If he pointing out that the ratio of 3,700 : 1,400,000 is one quarter of one percent, a number that is vastly smaller than the percentage (0.93%) of Muslims living in America.

I really have no clue why this even came up.  Why not talk about all the servicemen that are Shinto? I have absolutely no idea who his audience is supposed to be.  I'd say he's getting old and losing it, but he's a year younger than McCain so I won't.

[areukiddingme1]

Sorry, this is theater now...this is the left’s desperate attempt to dig down into the heart of America...it doesn’t work — it is too transparent.

American’s are not stupid — they know damn good and well that John McCain and the very risk of failure personally to call out against cutting and running and called for the surge — it worked.

Coincidently, the liberal left candidate for President of the United States of America voted time and time again to cut the very funds that would have supported that Soldier...end of discussion.

Obama voted to cut the funds to “ALL” U.S. Military Men and Women. Around here, “that dog just don’t hunt.” Period.

[DustyMoment]

I find it pretty interesting that Powell has such a selective memory. As I recall, it was a muslim soldier who rolled a hand grenade into his COs tent in Kuwait, just before we entered Iraq in the current war. He killed his CO and several other officer who were having a meeting and wounded several others.

That makes the score even if we selectively look only at muslims serving in the US Army.

[mass55th]

""I am troubled that within the (Republican) Party we have these kinds of expressions" suggesting that Obama is a Muslim, and that if he is, he likely associates with terrorists."

I've got news for you General. People within the Democrat party have said the same thing. The problem is, that you're so caught up in having a black President, you've failed to do your homework to find out.

[F15Eagle]

I figured he’d wind up ambassador to Saudi Arabia. And he’s already promised a job if Obambi gets in.

Powell is playing a card here to be used later. This is what he comes up with in regards to “Joe the Plumber”?

Doesn’t add up, unless there’s another agenda.

[F15Eagle]

That wasn’t the only one. There was the one that was “captured” only to wind up in another country. The Armed Forces didn’t buy it and then they found some of his stuff.

I think there were others too.

[F15Eagle]

There’s more to this story. As your numbers point out, and as I suspected, this is targeted to a different audience. Perhaps foreign donations to a campaign?

I don’t know.

[lonestar67]

Obama does not believe in the war this man was fighting for.

Obama does not believe in the justifications for the war provided by Colin Powell. Obama and his supporters consider Powell a war criminal and a liar.

The fact that he embraces his endorsement is an indication of the lack of principals guiding both men.

[SamuraiScot]

Doesn’t add up, unless there’s another agenda.

Such as, laying the groundwork for the imminent admission that Bambi's birth certificate is from Kenya, and the line for "Religion" says "Moslem"?

He'd be disqualified from the office of POTUS for reasons of nationality; but the Dems' line of defense will be that it's really because he's a Moslem, in other words "racism."

How was that? Did I do good? I tried to make up the stupidest chain of reasoning possible, but since we're talking about the Democratic Party, it will probably happen.

[F15Eagle]

Something going on here. I’m guessing it may take 6 or 12 months, perhaps less, and then this will make more sense.

We know Calypso Louie is already in the tank so I don’t know if this is a play to that angle.

[444Flyer]

I would like to thank the Khan family for this young man's brave sacrifice for our nation. The irony in it is that he was fighting the radical side of his religion while it is quite apparent that Obama wants to placate it. Powell does this brave soldier a disservice and dishonors his sacrifice by trying to politicize his death and connect him to the Obama campaign. It is spitting on a brave Veteran's grave. Shame on Powell.

[Candor7]

This is all part of the Obama plan to Balkanize America into discrete ethnic groups. We will no longer be Americans. We will be:

Muslim American

Black Americans

Hispanic Americans

White Americans ( typical white persons or TWPs)( no ethnic subcategories, we are the enemy)

Arab Americans

Native Americans

Asian Americans

Obama will impose a cultural mosaic on America, instead of the melting pot ideal. Regional budgeting will be dictated by the Hope and Change of the concentrated populations of ethnic community.Its "Community Work."

(This is what Trudeau did in Canada.)

In certain areas , ethnic language will become the official language of government.Criticism of this policy will constitute " hate speech"

All these communities will send their youth to Peace Corps and a Domestic Service para military Organization. Service will be required in order to qualify for student loans. Voluntary Military service will be suspended.

Community Watch groups organized by the federal Government will watch for dissent and hate speech. Community Watch Groups ( like Acorn) will draw a list of fire arms owners for regional disarmament initiatives.

Its all been planned already.

Welcome to the Hope & Change of Obama Utopia.

Obama must be defeated, or we pay with our blood and the banishment of American Tradition and many of our Freedoms, including Freedom of Speech.

[spetznaz]

Sorry about Khan but he is one of how many?

In his case, and for his family and nation, he alone is enough. I'd rather we not try to use dead heroes for political mileage, even if that is what Powell may have been doing. I would like to believe FReepers are above that, thus let us leave out this hero out of it. Also, he is not the only Muslim soldier in the Armed Forces, and he is not the only one to lose his life. I probably hate Islam more than you do (more direct exposure to the 'real' Islam, which is something most Westerners only see during terrorist attacks, but which is continuously operative at a lower tonal range in other areas), but I will not mire a dead brave man.

[F15Eagle]

Yep. Obama is a mix of Lenin, Marx and a few others. He soft-peddles it so the unwary are not alerted.

[river rat]

Colin Powell is even more inept and feckless than I had imagined...

Clearly - he personifies all the worst about the Affirmative Action Program and promoting folks FAR beyond their capabilities and into utter incompetence...... all that and an undeniable black racist to boot!

Lord! are there NO competent, honest, patriotic loyal American blacks in Politics or Public Service?????

Name a few...

[F15Eagle]

Agreed. Nothing bad to be said about the brave soldier. He made the ultimate sacrifice.

The question I posed on the thread is what is Powell trying to achieve here? Powell is first and foremost a politician, even if not SoS right now. He has issued an endorsement, he has been promised the reward of political appointment in return for that endorsement and now he comes out with this in answer to “Joe the Plumber”.

[MHGinTN]

Without Norman, Colin was bound to take the route of an attrition war in Kuwait. Without Norman, Colin would be just another high ranking military career man. Probably wouldn’t even have been the one making the U.N. presentation ...

[F15Eagle]

I imagine there are some but they may get shouted down.

And to think some wanted Powell to run for President. I didn’t but didn’t say much. Powell’s performance in the wake of the islamic suicide bombings in Israel *before* 9/11 told me what kind of man he was.

And since Condi Rice is cut from the same “blame the Joooos” cloth I don’t want her for Prez either.

[Fred Nerks]

Powell Wants More Muslims in U.S.
AP ^ | 11-18-02

Posted on Monday, October 20, 2008 11:09:59 AM by Chet 99

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said Monday he is trying to expand programs to bring educators, journalists and political and religious leaders from Islamic countries to the United States.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2109799/posts

[F15Eagle]

You confirmed at least part of my suspicions. Like I say, if he comes out as a “convert”, I will not be surprised.

[Gritty]

The problem with Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan is the problem with many "Christians". He isn't really versed in the Koran nor a true believer who knows and interprets his scriptures literally.

He is most likely a cultural Muslim, not one who takes his religious writings seriously. If he did, he would be out there on a Jihad against the Infidel.

I'm happy he isn't, but that doesn't excuse Powell from himself being gulled into thinking Khan is a true Muslim instead of a "Muslim".

[singfreedom]

My most sincere thanks to this father and his son for their sacrifice. We all sorrow with you. That is the American way.

As for Mr. Powell, and his self serving use of this family's ultimate sorrow, I am confounded as to his point. If Mr. Obama had been honest, which he rarely is, (and he hadn't been a rabid socialist, or a defense denier, or any one of fifty other insupportable things) about being a Muslim, the American public could have made an honest decision about supporting him, Muslim or no. However, he has not been honest.

Powell's assertion regarding the duration of Obama’s Christian faith is an apparent lie. Obama was a Muslim as a child, I'm certain, his Father would have insisted on it and his stepfather probably would have, too. He was even identified as Muslim at his elementary school.

[F15Eagle]

Yes Powell repeats the lie. Obama’s mother was a renowned athiest by the testimony of those around her including teachers, as I recall, from video. Obama’s father and step-father were both muslims.

[Fred Nerks]

After various comments that the original article could not be found, and suggestions that the story was a fake, I discovered it’s origin:

Official Text

19 November 2002
Transcript: Secretary of State Hosts Ramadan Dinner at the State Department
(Says extremism and violence are the greatest enemies)

http://www.usembassyjakarta.org/press_rel/powell_remark.html

[F15Eagle]

Thanks. More than a couple Americans turned *to* islam, unbelievably, in the wake of 9/11. Time will tell ...

[Fred Nerks]

It appears to me that in November 2002 when that AP article was written, they cherry-picked what they could find from that Powell address to make him look (and the Bush Admin) as pro-muslim as possible. On the surface, the address is just a lot of State Department diplomacy sh*t.

Since his defection to the Dems, that AP article is no longer uselful, so it’s been scrubbed.

[spetznaz]

Agreed. Nothing bad to be said about the brave soldier. He made the ultimate sacrifice. The question I posed on the thread is what is Powell trying to achieve here? Powell is first and foremost a politician, even if not SoS right now. He has issued an endorsement, he has been promised the reward of political appointment in return for that endorsement and now he comes out with this in answer to “Joe the Plumber”.

I am in total agreement with you ...Powell used it as a political bludgeon. No doubt about that. It was a nice encapsulated political package that he seized upon and used to try and counter-act the 'Hussein' monkey-on-the-back that has been plaguing Obama's campaign.

However, my problem is with the FReepers on this thread who are saying absolutely ridiculous stuff, like the one who mentions that the brave sacrifice of that soldier is negated by another Muslim soldier who threw a grenade at his men-at-arms. That is stupid (yes, stupid). Does that mean that if an Indian man steps in when my house is being raided, and gives his life in my defense, that such an act is then 'neutralized' when another Indian man elsewhere decides to grab a machete and raid another man's house? What does Khan's sacrifice have to do with some other soldier tossing a grenade ....it would only be applicable if the murderous soldier was Khan, and it is not.

Yesterday I was IBTZ on a thread where some troll was spewing forth trash on how FReepers automatically malign anyone for the sake of it, and while that troll was ...well, a troll ...and was righteously zotted, two of the posts I've seen on this thread (particularly the one talking about one man's sacrifice being neutralized by the murderous act of ANOTHER) do kind of support the statement that some people think with their hind-side.

Yeah, they were both Muslims, but one was an American hero who made the ultimate sacrifice, and the other a murderous Jihadi who 'fragged' his fellow soldiers and who just happened to have American citizenship even though his traitorous heart might as well have been born in some Taliban camel camp. That is a very big distinction, and anyone who cannot see it is plain outright STUPID ...particularly when they claim that the traitorous act of one man negates the brave sacrifice of another!

[F15Eagle]

I think, to a degree, there’s a rational consideration about alliances when the war is perceived to be with islam. Now, if we are truthful, there is a large percentage who support or participate in islamic terror.

That of course doesn’t mean all or even most muslims are terrorists. I’ve known a couple or three over the years and they were generally decent folks. My issue is with their doctrine.

In Great Britain, it appears to be many of their converted citizens and illegal immigrants that have presented much of the problem regarding alliance with jihadists.

[spetznaz]

Let me be un-PC for a moment here. I HATE Islam (hey, that may get pulled out, but I will not lie. I detest the religion ...as mentioned elsewhere, my exposure to Islam has been quite different from that of most Americans who have only stayed State-side and never traveled outside). Oh, and that is talking about 'normal' Islam (I've seen what the so called 'moderate Islam' does in non-Western nations).

When it comes to 'radical Islam' my solution is simple ...full-metal jacket at over 1500fps, at least!

It troubles me though when a brave American, whether he is Muslim or not, gives his life in the defense of his country of BIRTH (America), and someone comes along and says that 'oops, his valiant sacrifice just got wiped out because some other person, who happens to be Muslim, killed soldiers.' Again, unless the name of that killer was Khan, I do not see why anyone would associate him with that act.

[F15Eagle]

I don’t think there was an attempt to link this brave soldier with that act of the terrorist who tossed the grenade. I didn’t read it that way, anyways.

I think the issue was more of infiltration, or potential infiltration. Just as the Justice Department was trying to clear out Holy Land Foundation, pockets of Hamas terrorists, etc. across the USA, there were many trying to bring in more.

[fso301]

In his case, and for his family and nation, he alone is enough. I'd rather we not try to use dead heroes for political mileage, even if that is what Powell may have been doing.

In all due respects, I can certainly understand how muslims come to this country to escape the radicalism characterizing the nations they left behind. I can also understand how they firmly believe what is being done by these muslim radicals and sympathizers is un-islamic. I can even see how such person could view the US for all it's flaws as a tool of Allah used to bring reform to the muslim radicals and how such person as Mr. Khan would want to be a part of it.

However, my question still stands, of the combat deaths within US forces since 9/11. How many were self identified muslims?

[wac3rd]

Uncle Colin?

[F15Eagle]

I think more like

Eu tu, Colin? (from Julius Caesar)

[Cindy]

You’re thinking of this guy:

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/hasanakbar
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1387138/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1386211/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1373999/posts