CAIR equates US Marines with Zarqawi

The day after attending the dedication of the first mosque on a United States Marines base, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a press release comparing the Marines to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

CAIR issued a news release on June 8 to comment on the death of Zarqawi, expressing hope that the terrorist's elimination would help reduce violence in Iraq.

But CAIR pointedly expressed hope that the terrorists would stop directing their violence against civilians - not against American and coalition troops, who die almost daily.

In CAIR's words, "We hope the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi will lead to a decrease in the skyrocketing number of civilian deaths in Iraq and will help slow the downward spiral of sectarian violence gripping that nation.”

CAIR wasn't content to stop with mere criticism of Zarqawi. To show its even-handedness, it slammed the Pentagon.

In the same release, CAIR effectively equated the the American presence in Iraq with the terrorists, and specifically likened the US Marines to Zarqawi.

CAIR stated: "CAIR has previously condemned many of the hostage-takings, bombings, beheadings, and other attacks carried out by terrorist groups in Iraq. The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group has also challenged the justification for America’s presence in Iraq and recently called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over reports that U.S. Marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians last November in the city of Haditha."

A link to a demand for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld followed the statement.

CAIR did not make a blanket condemnation of terrorism until 2004, and failed to endorse a fatwa against terrorists until 2005. The group underwent years of pressure after the 9/11 attacks for being unpatriotic and sympathetic to certain terrorist factions. It has sought to mainstream itself in the media as a "civil rights" group.

Pentagon officials and others in the administration have pandered to CAIR and other groups with soft spots in their hearts for certain terrorists.