Daniel J. Pipes

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Brennan is reciting the creed

Reader comment on item: Counterterrorism in Obama's Washington

Submitted by Peter Herz (United States), Aug 19, 2009 at 16:07

Sorry, Dr. Pipes, the situation's more serious.

When someone like Brennan says "When governments fail to provide..etc..", he's reciting a creed the way a nominal Christian might recite the Apostles' Creed, a nominal Jew might recite the Shema Yisroel, or a nominal Muslim might recite the Shehada. It is a custom, pure and simple. Where the serious doubter might have subjected such a statement to critical scrutiny or a serious believer might have put some serious reflection into his recital, the nominal believer simply goes with the flow of custom.

But when the nation is facing a crisis, it needs leaders and officials who are capable of thinking quickly. By his recital of a tired mantra, Brennan will probably be caught flat-footed when the next terrorist strike hits us.


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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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