I appreciate this opportunity for the first hearing of this calendar year. In my view of todays hearing, we present the American People with a false choice. Its very premises suggests that we can either keep america safe or preserve our fundamental values. I reject that promise. We can and must defeat terrorism without sacrificing our principles. To compromise these principles and blame over a billion muslims for the twisted actions of an extremist view only serves to divide america, to alienate and legitimate the load groups that falsely claim to speak for islam. This makes us less safe. To truly tackle and destroy the ideology that lead fanatics to do us harm we will be best defended by maintaining open, tolerant us and religious freedom. We cannot fight radicalization with further radicalization. The country is still trying to make sense of a tragic attack in orlando 16 days ago. He massacred 49 innocent people, injuring 50 more, 50 more, leaving our nation and world shaken. These act of violence are sadly all too familiar and leave us asking why this congress refuses to take simple actions to prevent them. The particular form of violence of omar mateen will continue to be under scrutiny in days to come but there are a few facts i want to assert. First, as a nation we are not at war with the religion of islam. A deranged murderer invocation of islam with a hollow attempt to justify his rampage by cloaking it in the legitimacy of religion. We know isis is trying to falsely characterize us of being at war with islam. They are trying to characterize themselves as the legitimate heir of the prophet a mohammed. Isis is not islam. It is a perverted interpretation of one of the worlds great religion religion. It has killed more muslims and christians and extremists that call themselves isis neither practice islam or seek it. No religion condones massacring innocent people and faithful muslims and leaders around the world have this denounced isis for the terror group that it is. As you raise the question of president obamas committed to combating isys, let, let me recount that the president has also condemned the threat of isis, not what debate of a few words but with decisive action. We have carried over 13,000 airstrikes airstrikes and killed more than 25000 isis fighters and 120 isis leaders. Over the last the last year isis has lost more than half the territory it controlled in iraq and syria. The u. S. Built a 66 Nation Coalition to fight isis and these partners including 19 muslim majority majority states and organizations are committed to eliminating the threat posed by isis. They have contributed to wide range in the efforts to combat isis in the middle east and iraq and syria and beyond. Third, there is over 1. 6 billion muslims in the world including millions who are american citizens and are interwoven into the fabric of our nation. They are doctors and lawyers and scholars, service members, colleagues and friends. I have been deeply disturbed by inflammatory rhetoric directed toward muslims and how it has infected our political discourse in the United States paired are Muslim American citizens and neighbors share our stake in the Nation Security and our desire to be free from violence and hate. We know we can defeat isis without forgetting our value. They are able to engage and promote what are effective to be Law Enforcement techniques without prejudiced. I reject the notion that there is some sort of Political Correctness from fighting our enemy. It simply too polite to say that the brave men and women that keep yourself safe are not fighting. Place a blame on radical islam only seeks to empower isis. Let me submit for the record if i could a wide range of documents, but first a statement of principles signed by dozens of Foreign Policy leaders including former secretaries which correctly states religious bands and tests are unamerican and have no place in our refugee and immigration policy. Mr. Chairman i have a long list of statements id like to submit for the record from the Ranking Member senator leahy and the Public Affairs council, and amnesty international, the Labor Alliance and are New York Times article and Washington Times article. I believe those will be smitten without ejection. Without objection. As to the empty seats before us, it is my understanding this hearing was scheduled with a minimum of notice and no consultation with the invited witnesses from the administration. It is my expectation they are busy keeping our country safe and as you surely appreciate from your work in the Justice Department, asking witnesses to speak about the Ongoing Investigation into the orlando incident would not have produced any testimony. I would note that the sector will be before this exact committee in two days prepared to answer questions. Let me close i quoting what i have just omitted for the record, an article from general david pretorius. Those who flirt with hate speech against muslims should realize they are playing directly into the hands of al qaeda in the islamic state. Demonizing an entire religious faith and its, runs contrary to our cherished and fundamental values and it is also corrosive to our Vital National security interests and ultimately to our success in this world. I look forward to what i hope can be a productive conversation about our National Security, our civil Civil Liberties and respect for Muslim Americans. I think my friend from delaware for his comments. I would note that they suggested it was scheduling issues that prevented them from attending. This was noticed two weeks ago and we received a letter from the department of justice that did not site scheduling conflicts, they they just said they would not attend. I would suggest that was not inadvertent. I would also suggest that senator coons followed the lead of president obama. The first when he said as we have no war with islam. That is certainly correct. There are millions of peaceful muslims across the face of the globe and president obama and Senate Democrats do grave disrespect to them when they suggest some sort of equivalence between peaceful muslims and radical islamic terrorist. To suggest that confronting radical islamic terrorists is somehow hostile to peaceful muslims bears no bearing on reality. I would note as well senator coons, like president obama said this is just about creating a few words. No one has suggested radical islamic terrorism said that saying them out loud will suddenly make it go away. You cannot fight an enemy you do not acknowledge, that you pretend does not exist and that you refuse to confront. Its not simply that president obama wont say radical islamic terrorism, its that they have engaged in a purge to erase any focus on radical islamic terrorism. Senator mentioned a minute ago that we are still trying to make sense of the terror attack in orlando. One is only still trying to make sense if one ignores the actions and words of the terrorist. A terrorist who pledged his allegiance to isis and whose pledge of allegiance was edited out of his 911 call by the Obama Administration, an action that would make George Orwell proud. It only makes no sense if you do not listen to the promises to murder as many innocents as possible and the purpose of this hearing is to focus on the connections between that policy of willful blindness of insisting there is no such thing as radical islamic terror and the repeated failures of this administration to prevent terrorist. When the orlando terrorist told his coworkers that he was affiliated with al qaeda and when he is interviewed three times by the fbi, when hes interviewed and has connections to an american suicide bomber, when the father is publicly proclaiming on youtube his support for the taliban, any administration focused on fighting radical islamic terrorism would have watched that individual very, very closely to make sure the terror attack he was getting signal after signal after signal was a real risk. Orlando is not the only instance. Over and over and over again this administration has warning signs but because of Political Correctness the result is innocent americans are killed. At this point i would like to recognize mr. Carlin and mr. Steinbeck to provide their testimony. They have refused to attend so with that i will invite the members of the second panel to please come forward. Each of you will be sworn in marmot momentarily. While you are coming forward i will begin by introducing each of the members of the second panel. The first witness is doctor m duty who is the founder and president of the form for democracy in phoenix, arizona. A graduate for the university of wisconsin milwaukee and the medical college. He is a former commissioner of the United States commission on International Religious freedom and he served as a medical officer in the United States navy. He is currently in private practice in phoenix specializing in internal medicine and nuclear cardiology. She is the president and executive director of Muslim Advocates in oakland california. A graduate of Wellesley College in cornell law school, she is previously served as counsel to the u. S. Senate Judiciary Committee and has worked as a litigation associate associate with several prominent washington d. C. Wires. Mr. Philip haney is a Border Protection officer in the department of Homeland Security. Officer haney completed several tours of the center in washington d. C. And he has won numerous awards and accommodation for producing material that led to the identification of hundreds of terrorist. Having retired in july 2015 he now resides in marietta georgia. Mr. Richard cohen is a graduate of columbia university. He is previously testified before the he is a businessman activist and National Security consultant based in Franklin County virginia. He has been nearly a decade researching the threat america posed by radical islamic terrorism in developing expertise on the private organizations that terror groups rely on for support. Hes a graduate of North University law school and he previously worked as a special agent of the fbi. He is taught at the National Defense university, the John Jay College of justice and spent several years with the civil unions office. Mr. Andrew mccarthy is a senior fellow at the National Review in institute, a graduate of columbia and the new york law school, he served as a federal prosecutor for 18 years in the United StatesAttorneys Office for the Southern District of new york. He was the lead prosecutor in the terrorism case against the blind sheikh and 11 others convicted of urban terrorism against the United States. Mr. Mccarthy is the author of several books. I would ask each of you stand and raise your right hand. Do you affirm the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god. You may be seated. You are each sworn and we will begin the testimony. Is your microphone turned on. Okay or should be a red light. The microphone doesnt seem to be working if someone can try to address the technical issue. Perhaps you can use the adjoining microphone if that one is working. Thank you charming cruise for this very important hearing. I am president of the form for democracy based in furyk phoenix, arizona and i request my statements be written for the record. Im here today taking time away from my family, work during this last week of our holiest month of ramadan, a time of fasting and deep atonement because i could not feel more strongly that our Current National and direction in combating islamic terrorism is deeply flawed and profoundly dangerous. As a devout muslim who loves my faith and loves my nation, the emphasis is the greatest obstacle to National Harmony and National Security. Wholesale denial of the truth by many in our government is not only dishonest but it lies to the American People. There is extremism on both sides of this debate because the radical for their cauldrons of saudi arabia and iran end up speaking for islam. Im sorry to say that linking this to islam to saudi arabia and iran and the egyptian state, to pakistan so when you speak about 1. 6 billion muslims youre actually handing the narrative to the regime, not to the people of those governments requires them to maintain their global form as the only form is islam. If we are on the side of muslim dissidents than we would be on the side of having this debate. America was formed on a debate of democracy. I think we are adult enough to have this debate and do it functionally without saying we are having a debate in which we demonize 1. 6 billion 6,000,000,000point i would tell you as a muslim in this month of ramadan that we demonize them by letting the islamics speak for our community. They are not monolithic. They work to refuse to acknowledge the role of islam and its precursors. Majority of americans are smart enough to understand to say that the house of islam has no problem is just as problematic as declaring that islam and muslims are the problem. A National Security policy is refusing to say that islam currently has a problem is dangerous. This surrender which began just after 911 has charted a course. It has hamstrung our Homeland Security heroes from directing the most central precursors of militant islamic. If the agency actually emphasized the role of islam and its ideologies, it would shift the entire act excess of the agency towards one of beginning to address, expose and it view the root cause of political islam which would begin to make us safer. We cant hold our Homeland Security accountable for precursors and then tell them they cant even engage because all they are looking at his violent extremism. The only way to write this misdirection is to shift the center back access to countering violent extremism to countering violent islam is him. We must identify what it is. We were founded on the premise that terrorism, isis, al qaeda are all symptoms of bureaucratic bullies. We formed our organization to counter political islam just as the Founding Fathers did against bureaucracy. In december we convened to help launch a diverse Reform Movement that included over 15 organizations. Its a coalition of reformers in the u. S. That is not part of this. It includes feminist, those who believes in gay rights and all these issues of left to right but they came together to reject political islam. If everyone of them were here today, they would tell you that the refusal to identify clinical islam is the root cause and the Conveyor Belt is the greatest obstacle to reforming the ideas that turn out these militants. Not one iota of this work would be possible an environment where they are unwilling to understand and engage groups domestically and abroad on the diverse interpretations of these terms which i listed in my testimony. We should be able to have the maturity to engage on what these terms mean not to engage in those terms is not only dishonest but it actually marginalizes what you want and claim to respect. In fact the administration has not done so because of those who engage in their advisory circles like the council on islamic relations which is not supposed to engage the government but does because of its influence and connection to, i would say, the lobby in washington. I asked that any official use on the following terms that i discussed be immediately lifted. Any apparatus unable or unwilling to connect the dots between nine island and violent ideologies is leaving us bear and will miss the signs of radicalization. Fort hood, Boston Marathon, San Bernardino and likely orlando will show that and everyone in every one of these cases it is abundantly obvious that if they were honed in on the continuum of political islam that ultimately they would have had these individuals on their radar, but they didnt because they are waiting for that final moment when they become violent i want to end with some recommendations. We need to stop hiding behind offending the oic in their regime which put muslims like me in prison every day. The u. S. Government and Public Discourse must include a Broad Spectrum of ideologically Diverse Voices in the Muslim Community and not just one apologetic voice that doesnt see a problem and is enabling the continual radicalization of our community. It is time to stop engaging muslim brothers and media and recognize their problematic underbelly in underpinning. We must recognize they are not the only voice for american muslims that we must take womens issues and freedom of conscious a litmus test. These groups on prest will fail. Its time to start g