Freedom Rider: Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Neocon in Black Face
by BAR editor and senior
columnist Margaret Kimberley
"She has become well paid and famous because she demonizes
her fellow Muslims."
Ayaan Hirsi Ali first came to fame in the Netherlands, after
emigrating there from Somalia. She was elected to the Dutch parliament and
became known for criticizing that nation's Muslim immigrant communities,
especially for their treatment of women and girls. The story of a young,
pretty, African woman finding success and prestige in a foreign land was tailor
made for Hollywood, or for right-wingers looking for the perfect person to
excuse government sponsored mass murder.
The fairy tale story is just that. Ayaan Hirsi Ali exults in
the lowest depths of self-hatred. She has become well paid and famous because
she demonizes her fellow Muslims. As with black Americans or any other group of
despised people, the self haters, the Uncle Toms, are given a clear path to
fortune and favor.
Ali's political party soured on their relations with her
when it was revealed that she lied in order to enter the Netherlands with
refugee status. It turned out that the famous politician was like millions of
people from poor countries who will do anything to live in wealthy western
nations.
When Ali left the Netherlands to live in the United States,
her true ideology came to light. She became a fellow at the American Enterprise
Institute, one of the most powerful right-wing think tanks in the nation. Other
AEI scholars
include John Bolton, Lynne Cheney, David Frum, Newt Gingrich, Charles
Murray, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, and John Yoo.
"Ali's true ideology came to light."
John Bolton argued in favor of "blowing up" the United
Nations and was rewarded by the Bush administration with an appointment as U.N.
ambassador. Former Bush speech writer David Frum coined the phrase "axis of
evil" to legitimize wars of aggression against the rest of humanity. Charles
Murray is author of The Bell Curve, the paean to white supremacist
notions of black inferiority. Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz planned the
genocidal occupation of Iraq. John Yoo is a White House lawyer and author of
secret memos giving Bush authority to ignore the constitution and arrest and
torture whomever he wants whenever he wants.
These are Ali's cohorts, and her relationship with them
should never be forgotten when she utters her noxious words about "defeating"
Islam. She has no concern for Muslims who are being killed by the United States
military, currently the most prolific killer on earth. Her latest screed
published on the op-ed
pages of the New York Times, exhorted "moderate" Muslims to fight
the "extremists" in their religion. As always, those in the powerless group are
asked to condemn actions for which they have no responsibility.
White Christian Americans are never asked why they don't
condemn the Iraq occupation that has cost nearly one million lives. They aren't
asked to condemn racism, warfare, torture, or sexism. They aren't asked because
their group is the group in power, and that connection gives them immunity from
any and all criticism. White supremacy and the protections it grants are alive
and well, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali is one of its most prominent evangelists.
"Ali believes that the United States has the right to
occupy other nations or kill people whenever it wants."
If Ali and others are outraged when rape victims are punished
under Sharia law, they should
also be concerned when Iraqi women are killed by American bullets. They should
care that Muslim men are held without trial in Guantanamo and subjected to
torture. Palestinian women have died in childbirth when Israeli soldiers at
check points denied them access to medical care. Because these Muslims are not
victimized by other Muslims, they do not merit a mention from Ali.
Not only is she selective in her indignation, but Ali
believes that the United States has the right to occupy other nations or kill
people whenever it wants. "The land that the United
States should have occupied on the 12th of September should have been Saudi
Arabia," she says.
Ali sees nothing wrong with bombs, cholera outbreaks or theft of oil wealth.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a neocon, albeit in black face, and she
goes down the line in faithful
agreement with all of their horrific beliefs. "I
completely and utterly agree with John Bolton that talking to Iran is a sheer
waste of time." When she was
honored by the American Jewish Congress in 2006 she openly called
for war against Iran. She didn't even bother using the Bush administration
nuclear canard:
"Either way we who live in the free world have war with Iran under Ahmedinejad. So the choice is not between peace and war. The choice that we have to make is between war with Ahmedinejad with a nuclear bomb, or war with Ahmedinejad without a bomb. Not making the right choice between these two terrible alternatives could spark off a present-day Holocaust."
"She is the worst kind of extremist, a lover of
government sponsored mass murder."
Dead Muslims are no problem for Ms. Ali, just as long as the United States is their killer. She doesn't even care about other Somalis. The United States-instigated devastation of her homeland has not prompted her to utter one word of condemnation. Under the guise of fighting al-Qaeda, the American military is once again killing and starving thousands of people. No matter. They were killed by a government run by Christians and Jews. There is no need for anyone in those groups to be "moderate" or condemn "extremism."
Ms. Ali should ask the question of herself that she asks of others. Where are the moderate Muslims? She certainly is not one. She is the worst kind of extremist, a lover of government sponsored mass murder. Of course, the government doing the killing has to be the right one. If it is, no one has to speak of moderates and extremists. For Ayaan Hirsi Ali might makes right, as long as the "superior" people are the mighty ones.
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