Identity Politics vs. Radical Islamic Terrorism

The Department of Justice released transcripts Monday of a phone call between Orlando shooter Omar Mateen and a 911 dispatcher that occurred on the morning of the massacre. In the transcripts all references to ISIS — and presumably other references to radical Islam — were redacted, until the DOJ bowed to public pressure and released the full, un-redacted transcript.

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Although the media widely reported Mateen claimed allegiance to the Islamic State and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, during the call, all references to these subjects were blacked out from initial release the transcript. Arguing that the inclusion of these references was unnecessary, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ron Hopper staunchly defended the decision to delete them during a Monday press conference.

Keeping the conversation mired in the liberal constructs of straights vs. gays, whites vs. Latinos, and the NRA vs. gun safety appears to remain the top priority for the Democrats — and now the FBI. 

“[Mateen] does not represent the religion of Islam, but a perverted view,” Hopper said during the conference. “Part of the redacting is meant to not give credence to individuals who have done terrorist attacks in the past. We’re not gonna propagate their violent rhetoric.”

But Speaker of the House Paul Ryan blasted the Justice Department for its decision, calling it out for redacting facts that are already widely known across the nation.

“Selectively editing this transcript is preposterous,” Ryan said in a statement. “We know the shooter was a radical Islamist extremist inspired by ISIS. We also know he intentionally targeted the LGBT community. The administration should release the full, unredacted transcript so the public is clear-eyed about who did this, and why.”

The initial, redacted transcript read as follows:

Orlando police dispatch (OD): Emergency 911, this is being recorded.

Omar Mateen (OM): In the name of God the Merciful, the beneficial (in Arabic).

OD: What?

OM: Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God (in Arabic). I let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings.

OD: What’s your name?

OM: My name is I pledge of allegiance to (omitted).

OD: OK, What’s your name?

OM: I pledge allegiance to (omitted) may God protect him (in Arabic), on behalf of (omitted).

OD: Alright, where are you at?

OM: In Orlando.

OD: Where in Orlando? (End of call.)

Why were certain parts of the transcript edited in the first place? If Mateen’s ties to the Islamic State and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi were widely known already, why wouldn’t the Justice Department include them? Why was the transcript apparently scrubbed of all references to “radical Islamic terrorism,” an issue that has been so hotly contested in the week following the shooting? Is there something else going on here under the surface?

In a Sunday interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch expressed her concern to host John Dickerson regarding the “acts of hate” that the LGBT community and the Latino population have been subjected to in the U.S.

“But, obviously, we know that [Mateen] apparently had some concerns or issues with the LGBT community. As I mentioned before, this is a community that is often targeted by acts of hate. And so we’re very concerned about that issue, as well,” Lynch said. “It was also Latin night at the club. So, again, we’re very concerned about the motivations that led him to that particular club at that particular place. And we want to make sure that those communities know that we are there to protect them, as well.”

Lynch’s words reflect the sentiments expressed by President Barack Obama and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

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“So there’s no magic to the phrase ‘radical Islam.’ It’s a political talking point,” Obama said on Tuesday. “We hear language that singles out immigrants and suggests that entire religious communities are complicit in violence. Where does this stop? The Orlando killer, one of the San Bernardino killers, the Fort Hood killer — they were all U.S. citizens.”

The redactions and the messaging from top-level administration officials, the White House, and the Clinton campaign paint a picture of a unified Democratic effort to push the Orlando tragedy into the box of “identity politics,” such as gender and ethnicity, rather than acknowledge the threat of radical Islamic terror.

The “identity politics” push of course comes alongside renewed calls for gun control measures that would have done nothing to stop the massacre at the hands of a self-professed Islamic soldier.

Keeping the conversation mired in the liberal constructs of straights vs. gays, whites vs. Latinos, and the NRA vs. gun safety appears to remain the top priority for the Democrats — and evidently the FBI.