Time to question their patriotism again

At the Jeddah Economic Forum over the weekend, Al Gore continued his journey to the dark side, and flayed his own country while in a country that funds terrorism and gave the world the virulent Wahhabi ideology.

Former Vice President Al Gore told a mainly Saudi audience on Sunday that the U.S. government committed "terrible abuses" against Arabs after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that most Americans did not support such treatment.

Gore said Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions. The former vice president said the Bush administration was playing into al-Qaida's hands by routinely blocking Saudi visa applications.

"The thoughtless way in which visas are now handled, that is a mistake," Gore said during the Jiddah Economic Forum. "The worst thing we can possibly do is to cut off the channels of friendship and mutual understanding between Saudi Arabia and the United States."

Tigerhawk says this about Gore's rant:

There is simply no defense for what Gore has done here, for he is deliberately undermining the United States during a time of war, in a part of the world crucial to our success in that war, in front of an audience that does not vote in American elections. Gore's speech is both destructive and disloyal, not because of its content -- which is as silly as it is subversive -- but because of its location and its intended audience. He should be ashamed. But he won't be. The leadership of the Democratic party should disavow Gore's Jiddah speech. But it won't.

I assume when Gore is referring to the thoughtless ways visas are handled, he means he'd like to return to the pre 9/11 days, when 15 of the 9/11 hijackers were issued visas in Saudi Arabia. According to Joel Mowbray, most of them should have been denied. For example,

Even to the untrained eye, it is easy to see why many of the visas should have been denied. Consider, for example, the U.S. destinations most of them listed. Only one of the 15 provided an actual address — and that was only because his first application was refused — and the rest listed only general locations — including "California," "New York," "Hotel D.C.," and "Hotel." One terrorist amazingly listed his U.S. destination as simply "No." Even more amazingly, he got a visa.
....
Brothers Wail and Waleed al-Shehri applied together for travel visas on October 24, 2000. Wail claimed his occupation was "teater," while his brother wrote "student." Both listed the name and address of his respective employer or school as simply "South City." Each also declared a U.S. destination of "Wasantwn." But what should have further raised a consular officer's eyebrows is the fact that a student and his nominally employed brother were going to go on a four-to-six-month vacation, paid for by Wail's "teater" salary, which he presumably would be foregoing while in the United States. Even assuming very frugal accommodations, such a trip for two people would run north of $15,000, yet there is no indication that the consular officer even attempted to determine that Wail in fact had the financial means to fund the planned excursion. They appear to have received their visas the same day they applied.
....
On June 18, 2001, Abdulaziz Alomari filled out a simple, two-page application for a visa to come to the United States. Alomari was not exactly the ideal candidate for a visa. He claimed to be a student, though he left blank the space for the name and address of his school. He checked the box claiming he was married, yet he left blank the area where he should have put the name of his spouse. Although he claimed to be a student, he marked on his form that he would self-finance a two-month stay at the "JKK Whyndham Hotel" — and provided no proof, as required under law, that he could actually do so.

Despite the legal requirement that a visa applicant show strong roots in his home country (to give him or her a reason to come back from America), Alomari listed his home address as the "ALQUDOS HTL JED" (a hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia). Alomari didn't even bother filling in the fields asking for his nationality and gender, apparently realizing that he didn't need to list much more than his name to get a visa to the United States. As it turns out, he didn't. He got his visa.

Those mean, wascly Amewicans, making it harder for sweet Saudis to enter the US.

Al Gore was nearly the President of the United States. And he's decrying efforts to make it harder for terrorists to get into the US. Go ahead, Dhimmicrats. Keep trying to figure out why a majority of Americans don't trust you on national security.

Al Gore, I question your patriotism.

(As a side note, at this same Jeddah Economic Forum, Gerhard Schroeder, former German chancellor, said this:

The Jeddah Economic Forum opened with an appeal by former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for Europeans to show more sensitivity to the beliefs of Muslims and with Saudi calls for homegrown democratic change.

Schroeder's call was linked to the row raging around the world over the printing of cartoons of Prophet Mohammed(S), which Muslims consider as blasphemous. "European integration is built upon the foundation of respect of other cultures, tolerance and the recognition of diversity," Schroeder told the seventh annual edition of the forum, whose theme is: "Honoring Identity and Celebrating common grounds."

He's German, so I guess I can't question his patriotism, even though he is on the payroll of the guy who just invited the terrorist outfit Hamas to Moscow for a chitchat normally reserved for legitimate organizations.)

Closer to home, Strib columnist Nick Coleman laid into a wonderful commercial currently airing on national networks.

I about fell out of my chair the first time I saw the commercial. I wondered how it ever got by the network poobahs. The commerical features three men who have served in Iraq, and offers unabashed support for the mission in Iraq. (See Power Line's excellent description of the commercial here.)

You can see the commercial at the website for Progress for America.

Power Line does an excellent job summarizing the message, and Coleman's response to it. I wanted to highlight a couple excerpts, though.

But for those devoted to political spin more than truth, there was a positive development in the war, a development which, oddly, took place on TV sets in Minnesota.
...
Be warned: Despite the patriotic music, the flags and the burning Twin Towers, these ads aimed at Minnesota's heartstrings are not about supporting the troops.

I see. A commerical that does not follow the MSM party line that we are one rickshaw bomb away from the darkest days of Vietnam is "political spin." An effort to inform the American public that progress is indeed being made is propaganda, and not about supporting the troops. Nick, I invite you to go back and read this blog's archives since last August, and then tell me again how progress is not being made in Iraq.

Go ahead, Strib. Keep trying to figure out why people are cancelling their subscriptions.

Nick Coleman, I question your patriotism.

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Michelle Malkin wonders how much Al Gore was paid.