“I think this whole notion that somehow we can just say no more Muslims, just ban a whole religion, goes against everything we stand for and believe in. I mean, religious freedom has been a very important part of our history and where we came from.”
You may assume this quote is from former President Obama or New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker. Perhaps even Hillary Clinton decided to weigh in on President Trump’s recent executive order to ban individuals from select Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States.
If you guessed a Democrat made this statement regarding the “Muslim ban,” you would be wrong. This statement comes from former GOP Vice President Dick Cheney, who was in office during the tragic terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Cheney went on to say, in an interview with conservative radio host (and Ohio native) Hugh Hewett, that he believed a more targeted and nuanced approach to vetting was needed to effectively identify potential terror threats.
Let’s face it. Dick Cheney is not one to be all warm and fuzzy when it comes to matters of national security. Yet, even he questions the efficacy of the approach as well as the patriotism of this executive order. Maybe he is more reasonable because the George W. Bush administration, when faced with the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, still strived to adhere to our core American values of religious tolerance.
Roughly a week after 9/11, then-President Bush identified our enemy in the wake of an Islamic-inspired attack. Bush said our enemy is “not our many Muslim friends. It is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them.” Sixteen years later, it is this radical network of terrorists, not all who practice Islam, who remain the enemy.
Yes, our visa system needs to be re-examined and modernized to reflect the 21st century geopolitical environment. But no blanket ban on individuals hailing from a handfull of countries that do not even include the native nations of the 9/11 hijackers is going to be effective in taking out the true enemy of radical terrorists. This approach would not have stopped 9/11 or more recent attacks such as the one at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, which was committed by am American citizen.
The delicate dance between protecting national security and preserving civil liberties is one as old as our nation itself. It is not easy to strike a balance between these two equally important tenets of our democratic foundation. Leadership means doing what is hard, not what is convenient. We cannot lose our core values of tolerance, acceptance and religious freedom while searching for a quick fix to a complex problem.
We must find a way to protect our nation without forfeiting key principles that make our nation great: freedom to practice the religion of your choice without fear of the government and protecting the truly vulnerable who seek asylum on our shores. I implore decision makers in Washington to consider the words of President Bush and Vice President Cheney as they contemplate the way forward on combatting radical Islamic terrorism. We must all work together to find a solution. The legacy of our great nation is at stake.
Capri S. Cafaro is a Democratic state senator from Ohio and former Ohio Senate minority leader. If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read our guidelines on submissions here.
