Cat's cradle of liberty

Do you wonder what the-artist-formerly-known-as Cat Stevens planned to do in the U.S. before he was forced off the flight from London to Washington, D.C., after it was diverted to Maine. Was the man who sang "Peace Train" on a war plane? Why was the airplane permitted to take off from London in the first place if his name was on the "no fly" list? Is this a high-profile example of how the President's policies are keeping us safer? Oooh baby, it's a karlrove world. The artist-now-known-as Jusuf Islam has an interesting web site reflecting peaceful values.

Meanwhile, at noon today, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a news conference at noon today to say "When internationally-respected Islamic personalities like Yusuf Islam and Professor Tariq Ramadan [an Islamic scholar who was due to begin teaching at the University of Notre Dame] are denied entry to the United States, it sends the disturbing message that even moderate and mainstream Muslims will now be treated like terrorists," according to CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. DHS officials recently revoked the visa of Tariq Ramadan. SEE: "Muslim Scholar Barred from US Preaches Tolerance.

So why was Mr. Jusuf Islam considered a threat to national security? Perhaps the feeling is that the high-profile image of a Muslim man of peace runs counter to the stereotype of the enemy in the "war on terror." . . . Usually there are peace talks in time of war ... even Vietnam had the Paris Peace Talks. But there's no one sitting at the table with the U.S. to discuss the CAUSES and END of the terrorist attack(s), is there?

Supposedly, our grudge is with Osama bin Laden, wanted dead or alive, but Bush is back-pedaling on that . . . Now our enemy is described generically as "extremists" i.e. the terrorist insurgents and rebels in Iraq, Afganistan, and around the world. So we're bogged down in Afganistan and Iraq for years to come, creating more martyrs for Allah, and turning away Muslim men of peace and good will. Good plan. The Kerry campaign should start playing Cat Steven's Peace Train at rallies, and Kerry should try to arrange secret peace talks with Osama in Cambodia.