By Andy Wiltrout
Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security Peter King (R-N.Y.) defended the committee’s Wednesday morning hearing on the Somalian Islamic group Al Shabaab from critics, most notably the New York times.
“Certain elements of the politically correct media are shamelessly attempting to exploit the horrific tragedy in Norway to cause me to refocus these hearings away from Muslim-American radicalization,” said King.
According to the committee, the Somalian terrorist group al-Shabaab is a major ally in East Africa for Al Qaeda and is attempting to radicalize and recruit Muslim Americans inside the United States and Canada. The report suggests that al-Shabaab has successfully recruited and radicalized more than 40 Muslim Americans and 20 Canadians who have joined the terror group inside Somalia.
Of those 60, at least 15 Americans and three Canadians are believed to have died fighting with al-Shabaab, according to the committee’s findings.
Not all committee members were convinced, however, that al-Shabaab posed a threat to the United States.
Ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said “while I acknowledge that the intelligence community sees a need to monitor al-Shabaab’s activities, I also know that vigilance must be in direct proportion of the probability and likelihood of the threat and al-Shabaab does not appear to present any danger to this homeland.”
This marks King’s the third hearing in a series focused on Muslim radicalization in the United States.