Tuesday, December 8, 2015

GOP Presidential candidate Andy Martin responds to Donald Trump’s “Muslim” remarks and offers a nuanced analysis

GOP presidential candidate Andy Martin provides his expert reaction and insight into Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to limit Muslim access to the United States.
News from:
ANDY MARTIN /2016        
Republican candidate for
President of the United States       

“Make America Great Again”
                    www.AndyMartinforPresident.com
www.AndyMartin.com
www.FirstRespondersOnline.us
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

GOP presidential candidate Andy Martin says that Donald Trump has been “rescued” by the New York Times; the newspaper is publishing an article saying Trump’s Muslim ban is constitutional

Andy says Trump still does not understand the distinction between being a celebrity and being a presidential candidate

Andy is the only presidential candidate with actual experience living in the Middle East, among Muslims

Andy says that if Trump or Andy were to be elected, the need for a ban on Muslim immigration would evaporate; local nations would clean up their acts without the need for further prompting

The threat of radical Islam is real, Andy says, and strong yet sensible measures are necessary to protect U S national security

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(New York) (December 9, 2015) 

Dear American:

This is my tenth letter to the American people from the 2016 campaign trial.

Many of you are aware of Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to limit Muslim access to the United States. The following observations may help you separate the wheat from the chaff.

1. Is Trump’s proposal legal?

You probably have heard the expression “it is better to be lucky than smart.” The New York Times, arch-enemy of Donald Trump, has now produced an article suggesting Trump’s “ban” on Muslim immigration would be legal and could very well survive a court challenge (please see link below). In an irony of ironies, Trump has been “rescued” by the New York Times.

Bill O’Reilly has a feature on his show “Is it Legal?” but the two lawyers who discussed Trump’s proposal on Tuesday night had no idea what they were saying or dealing with. They were way off base. Ironically, O’Reilly, who is not a lawyer, had a better grasp of the “law” than his lawyers did.

Likewise, Trump is not a lawyer. If Trump were to be elected president, he would be working through government lawyers. They would be the ones who draft proposed laws, executive orders and the like.

While I also am not an expert in immigration law, I accept the New York Times article as a statement that Trump’s Muslim ban, however ill-advised or misconceived as policy, would be legal and would be upheld by the courts. I am sure you may have heard many people on TV in the past two days say it was “unconstitutional” and would be struck down by the courts. Wrong.

Apparently, the New York Times does not agree.

If Trump’s proposal is legal as a matter of law, then all of the exaggerated rhetoric and the abusive attacks spewed by the liberal media and pro-Muslim activists, as well as Hillary Clinton and Josh Earnest, may backfire with the American people. This letter will find its way into many homes and media outlets. Some sense of proportion about Trump’s remarks will evolve.

2. Why does Trump make these mistakes? And can he learn?

Mr. Trump has spent decades being a celebrity. On numerous occasions in prior “letters” and news releases to you I have explained why he is having a rough transition from celebrity to presidential candidate. Trump’s “experience” as a celebrity is contrary to the requirements that a presidential candidate be accurate and authoritative. If you actually read Trump’s Muslim news release it was more measured that the media reporting. But Trump’s statement was sloppily written and as a result created a massive backlash.

Five minutes more of editing his remarks would have eliminated most of the backlash and delivered 99% of the message Trump intended to deliver. Can Mr. Trump learn? He has improved as a candidate. But his language is still far too undisciplined. He is entitled to take tough positions, even hard line ones; but he should have someone vet his remarks to make them more accurate and defensible.

3. Where do I stand on Muslim issues?

My family roots go deep into modern Middle East history. Both my father and grandfather fought in the Middle East. My mother also served there as part of American intelligence. I lived in Baghdad after the 2003 invasion, and I have been to the area many times over the last half century (see below). As is so often the case, I am the only presidential candidate with actual experience concerning Middle East issues. You can go to www.firstrespondersonline.us and see a picture of me in front of a mosque (under Executive Director).

Last Saturday I made a much more limited and specific visa denial proposal than Mr. Trump. I proposed (go to my blog to read the full story) that we suspend fiancée and marriage visas until we check our procedures, and also that we suspend all visas from Pakistan except humanitarian authorizations, until Pakistan clans up its record on terrorism and Radical Islam.

My regular readers know that I usually have a confident and detailed response to national and international problems. But I have an open mind as to how we proceed in dealing with Radical Islam. Clearly, the “standard” or “benchmark” must be our own national security, not what Muslims, foreigners or others think of our proposals or actions.

I do not think I would have to take extreme measures if I was president or secretary of state and, frankly, if he were to be elected neither would Mr. Trump. The message would be conveyed that the era of Obama coddling is over. The era of Bush-Obama incompetence is over. Ultimately, America has to work closely with the Muslim world irrespective of who is president, including Trump.

I hope these comments help you to understand Mr. Trump’s claims, and also provide some insight as to why I am the most qualified candidate for president by virtue of experience and temperament.

Andy Martin

[How Andy became a terrorism and counterterrorism expert:

Andy has fifty years of experience in Asia, Southwest Asia and the Middle East; he is regarded overseas as one of America’s most respected independent foreign policy, military and intelligence analysts. He is known as an “over-the-horizon” expert who synthesizes conditions to prepare predictive opinions.

Andy’s experience fighting terrorism began during the Cold War in 1965 when he became an acolyte of Professor Bernard Fall. After Professor Fall was blown up, Andy persevered in studying counterinsurgency (COIN) in Viet-Nam and around the world. Andy founded the Revolutionary War Research Center and in 1974 he began to offer counterterrorism consulting at the World Trade Center in New York, becoming one of the nation’s first counterterror specialists. Andy was in New York on September 11, 2001 and rendered assistance.

Andy first went to the Arab world in 1970 and has traveled to every country in that region. Andy was in Iran and Afghanistan during the hostage crisis in 1979-80.

He lived in Iraq in 2003.

His analysis of the terrorist threat in Iran during 1979-80, and again in Iraq in 2003, were leading-edge predictions of what Americans faced in the future. Andy has lived in or been in Israel, Jordan, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Viet-Nam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.]

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LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/us/politics/donald-trumps-plan-to-bar-foreign-muslims-might-survive-a-lawsuit.html?

New citations after emailing:


WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT ANDY MARTIN:

One author has called Andy Martin the “big kahuna” of the anti-[Barack] Obama movement. Another said “Andy Martin is revolutionizing journalism… [Andy] brings to online journalism what Rush Limbaugh [brings] to radio or Michael Moore to film: sleek little stories that fit into larger political narratives…” Another says, “The only American journalists that are ‘standing UP’ [to Obama] are, Andy Martin…”

ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire, New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With forty-seven years of background in radio and television and with five decades of investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, intelligence and military matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for over forty-five years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

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Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]

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