Congressman Admits 9/11 Error

Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., Compared WTC Attack To Nazi-Era Reichstag Fire

(AP)  The nation's first Muslim congressman said Tuesday that he erred in comparing the Bush administration's response to Sept. 11 to an event that led to Adolf Hitler's consolidation of power in Nazi Germany.

At an appearance before a group of atheists in Minnesota on July 8, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., called Sept. 11 "the juggernaut" that led to war, tolerating torture and increased discrimination against religious minorities.

"It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that," he said. "After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it and it put the leader of that country in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted."

Hitler used the 1933 burning of the Reichstag, the German parliament building, to suspend constitutional liberties.

"In hindsight, I wouldn't have used that reference point," Ellison told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday. "It was probably inappropriate to use that example, because it's a unique historical event, without really any clear parallels."

Ellison said he remains harshly critical of the Bush administration.

"I believe that they have exploited the fears that grew from 9/11, in order to pass legislation and even start wars they could have never gotten away with but for that tragedy," he said.

Ellison said he had gotten a call Tuesday afternoon from the Anti-Defamation League, an international group that opposes anti-Semitism, regarding the Hitler comparison.

"They told me they understood the point I was trying to make, but they didn't think it was the right way to use that historical example, because they thought any sort of comparison to the modern world we live in in some way diminishes the horror of the Nazi era," Ellison said. "I told them I feel they're right."

The ADL released a statement Tuesday calling on Ellison to apologize for his comments. The group's national director, Abraham H. Foxman, called the comparison "outrageous and offensive to all Americans."

"Whatever his views may be on the administration's response to 9/11 and the conduct of the war on terrorism, likening it to Hitler's rise to power and Nazism is odious and demeans the victims of 9/11 and the brave American men and women engaged in the war on terror," Foxman said. "Furthermore, it demonstrates a profound lack of understanding about the horrors that Hitler and his Nazi regime perpetrated."

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum also issued a statement Tuesday, saying: "Nazi Germany committed unprecedented crimes against Europe's Jews and others. Invoking the Holocaust to make a point about the United States is unfounded, minimizes the evil of Nazism, and is an offense to its victims."

[finewoven]

What I see, that evidently you don%u2019t see, is that the Islam religion has been usurped by megalomaniacs that want other people to be sacrificed for their inane causes. They have no respect for life. And as they pursue these goals of theirs, they give Islam a bad name, similar to the Catholic church that supported the Inquisitions, or more recently the pedophile settlements. Not ALL members are to blame.

Do you really think a Democracy is sustainable there?

[finewoven]

ban_islam, you goad people into a classification that they do not belong, and I find that insulting. However, I will make the necessary points that people of that area of the world cannot understand the benefits of a democracy, for these reasons: they integrate religion within their laws (not unlike our laws which originated as Cannon law, but then developed as Common law, and now Constitutional law); as a consequence, they don%u2019t allow banking with the application of interest; also, they don%u2019t have a tax base to build their infrastructure; and their culture requires the subjugatation women and people of other cultures/religions.

Also, they are inclined to a Mob Mentality, with little degree of objective thinking; no proper education for the masses (back to the infrastructure problem), and they have what%u2019 referred to as %u201Cthe curse of natural resources,%u201D which means they have no reason to develop their society, prosper through education and economic initiative. So instead, people with wealth seek to dominate others, or they use religion as a prop to get the mob to move in the direction of their choice. This happens in non-Muslim countries, like Sierra Leone for example where their diamonds bring riches to a few, and devastation to the masses.

[finewoven]

You keep calling me narrowminded
Posted by ban_islam at 09:43 PM : Jul 19, 2007

I consider your comments narrowminded, and bigoted; I don't know you. Nor do you know me.

You make the mistakes of addressing this terror(ble) situation by painting Muslims with a broad brush. It's kinda like saying "the only good Indian is a dead Indian," which was a rational for genocide.

I owe you no explaination, your folly is your own.

[ban_islam]

Another narrowminded comment, totally in error. Have you thought about presenting your vitriol to Fox News; personally I don't think even they would take you seriously.Posted by finewoven
----

By your defensive remark it seems clear you're muslim. You keep calling me narrowminded but fail to support your claim or adequately refute mine, so its nothing more than an ad hominem attack and my position is sound.


----
You should go rent the movie "The Stone Merchant," it supports everything you believe.
Posted by finewoven
----

Thanks for the suggestion but I get bored of hearing what I already know from other sources.

[finewoven]

I should add: so the solution to ending Islamic terrorism against us is to attack the root cause of the problem-the ideology of Islam. It is barbaric, inhumane and extremely dangerous, not just to its intended victims (non-muslims), but also muslims as well.
Posted by ban_islam at 05:29 PM : Jul 19, 2007

You should go rent the movie "The Stone Merchant," it supports everything you believe.

[finewoven]

You're either a muslim apologist-who's intent is to deceive readers on the true evil nature that is Islam or you're a leftist who's uninformed on this death cult, like most Americans.
Posted by ban_islam at 05:16 PM : Jul 19, 2007

Another narrowminded comment, totally in error. Have you thought about presenting your vitriol to Fox News; personally I don't think even they would take you seriously.

[ban_islam]

I should add: so the solution to ending Islamic terrorism against us is to attack the root cause of the problem-the ideology of Islam. It is barbaric, inhumane and extremely dangerous, not just to its intended victims (non-muslims), but also muslims as well.

The best solution for humanity is to ban this dark ages cult of hatred and death, concocted by a mass-murdering child-molester thief and charlatan who calls himself a "prophet of god." Banning Islam can also prevent a more protracted global war against Islam and the West.

I doubt anyone will listen to reason and we'll have this war anyways (since muslims will try to kill anyone who 'insults' or critizes their cult or their deranged 'prophet') but this would be the only solution to avoid deaths in perhaps the 100s of millions-assuming it is taken to its extremes.

[ban_islam]

since your opinion has this over-ridding tone that all Muslims are the enemy. If you truly believe this then you are mistaken.
Posted by finewoven
----

You're either a muslim apologist-who's intent is to deceive readers on the true evil nature that is Islam or you're a leftist who's uninformed on this death cult, like most Americans. My intuition tells me you're the former-an apologist.

I disagree on your position that we shouldn't kill 100 "innocent people" to get 10 terrorists. In fact 9/11 can be blamed for that kind of irrational reasoning. Clinton had at least 13 opportunities to take out OBL before 9/11 and he refused because he was afraid of killing the civilians. Of course Osama went on to kill 3000 Americans, so your argument is patently absurd.

Not to mention westerners do all they can to limit collateral damage whereas muslim terrorists go out of their way to kill as many innocents as possible and also using them as human shields, as is done often by muslims in Palestine for instance.

cont'd below

[ban_islam]

cont'd

As for your ludicrous notion of the 'terrorist bogeyman', either you think you're being clever or you're just an ignoramous. One only needs to open their eyes to what's going on in the muslim world-not to mention the attacks they've carried against us in the recent past to clue in.

Lastly terrorism isn't some random phenomena that we'll never understand let alone defeat, if anyone with half a brain has been paying attention they'd know where it comes from, what motivates it and hence how it can be defeated. Islamic terrorism is better known as 'Jihad' or holy war. Its prescribed by the Quran to ultimately Islamify the world. Muslims also use 'peaceful' means to destroy their enemy and take over.

Today that is massive immigration, population explosion, getting elected into power, giving more rights to muslims while taking away those of non-muslims and eventually abolishing democratic institutions and replacing them with Islamic ones under Sharia Law. Its a tried and true 'one-two punch' (jihad+power grabbing) of Islamic invasion and conquering of non-muslim lands (dar ul harb or house of war).

[finewoven]

You got to know how to size-up your adversaries properly. All of the fluff about making terrorists the new boogey man seems more of a political ploy, and a disservice to those who must fight and reduce their capability to cause harm. America%u2019s pursuit of the %u201Cenemy%u201D becomes a boondoggle when you apply such rhetoric as yours, and we go and kill a hundred innocent people to eliminate ten terrorists (as an example). This desire by like-minded people to exaggerate the circumstance prevents us from sizing up our adversary as we should, and so we get stuck in the muck for 4 = years. We must do better here, and you are not helping%u2014since your opinion has this over-ridding tone that all Muslims are the enemy. If you truly believe this then you are mistaken.

[finewoven]

Ellison has no more allegiance to the US than Osama does. Muslims are a 5th column in the West who seek to destroy our democracies and replace them with 6th century barbarism and they will not stop their onslaught without force. Islam is today's Nazism multiplied by 100.
Posted by ban_islam at 02:51 PM : Jul 19, 2007

You are absurd. All your comments seem skewed by your narrowmindedness. Nazi Germany was a war machine, building some of the best arms that could be made based on the technology of that day. They trained their population to ignore the freedoms that were given after WWI. Their religion, while peole thin was Christian, was actually Teutonic; and they thought is was their place to rule the world after Napoleon failed, call the third reich (and the fifth column). Al Qaeda uses our technology against us. They use the Internet for propaganda, as well as munitions left over from the Russian conflict there years ago. They are not a war machine, but they embrace tactics that could only be described as terrorist enabled. They are Nazism multiplied by 0.25.

[ban_islam]

Of course Ellison hates Bush, he's a muslim after all. Osama is another muslim who hates Bush/USA and he proved it by attacking us on 9/11. Its also telling that Ellison would compare Bush to Hitler and Nazism, basically the most despised and dangerous threat the free world faced and defeated within the past 60 years.

Ellison wasn't upset by the attack against our country on 9/11, one that he benefits from, rather, like a typical muslim, he's outraged at our response to this attack. I think he was hoping we wouldn't bother to hunt down the perpetrators and succumb to Islamification. He's fortunate that half our population still doesn't understand the enormous threat we're facing against Islam (not 'radical' islam since it doesn't exist). So muslims hide amongst lunatic leftists pretending to display 'righteous indignation' against 'western imperialism.'

Ellison has no more allegiance to the US than Osama does. Muslims are a 5th column in the West who seek to destroy our democracies and replace them with 6th century barbarism and they will not stop their onslaught without force. Islam is today's Nazism multiplied by 100.

[finewoven]

Freedom is neither a right nor is it free. Freedom is a priviledge that some but not all enjoy. This priviledge can and will be revoked if the people do not keep a close watch on the governing bodies.
Posted by Klingon69 at 01:45 PM : Jul 19, 2007

Sounds like you are not American. Freedom is not a privilege, it is a basic right, and we need to remain viligant that Government doesn't usurp the rights of the people.

[klingon69]

Freedom IS a divine right to EVERY Human seeing the sunlight and living under Earth Sky. This Freedom is an essential ingredient to all revolutions including the one that lead to the constitutional creation of the USA. So stop bragging about this freedom and asking retribution to anyone int the world. This is an Ultimate right, unfortunately not respected by some Arab countries who enjoy the tacite support of the Oligarchic (now we see it) Moronic Government of Walking-Liar Bush.
Posted by grazinggoat at 04:31 PM : Jul 18, 2007
Freedom is neither a right nor is it free. Freedom is a priviledge that some but not all enjoy. This priviledge can and will be revoked if the people do not keep a close watch on the governing bodies.

[finewoven]

n 2006, Bush had the Republican Congress grant him and others immunity for war crimes and for breaking FISA.

If the acts were so legal, why did he need an immunity law--and how does his contrived immunity differ from Hitler's?
Posted by toldyouso21 at 11:09 AM : Jul 19, 2007

Excellent Point!!

[finewoven]

The only difference lays in the difference of perception of What freedom is.
Posted by grazinggoat at 06:01 PM : Jul 18, 2007

EXACTLY!! If you check this point of yours, in certain societies especially those of Asia Minor, freedom IS the release of your soul from your bodily needs--through death. Whereas in the Western World, freedom is the ability to pursue your happiness through expression of life. This is a crucial difference, and if you use the word freedom in context of what non-Westerners believe, they have no intrepretation beyond that which causes more death. THIS IS THE CRUX OF OUR DIFFICULTIES in bridging the cultural gap.

[finewoven]

The only difference lays in the difference of perception of What freedom is.
Posted by grazinggoat at 06:01 PM : Jul 18, 2007

EXACTLY!! If you check this point of yours, in certain societies especially those of Asia Minor, freedom IS the release of your soul from your bodily needs--through death. Whereas in the Western World, freedom is the ability to pursue your happiness through expression of life. This is a crucial difference, and if you use the word freedom in context of what non-Westerners believe, they have no intrepretation beyond that which causes more death. THIS IS THE CRUX OF OUR DIFFICULTIES in bridging the cultural gap.

[bubblehead2000]

Of course Republicans used 9/11 as their own Reichstag. They used it to seize power and destroy their domestic opposition. It may have been a stroke of political genius, it may have allowed them to ramrod their corporate Supreme Court picks BUT IT WAS JUST WRONG.

Hell, they used 9/11 for everything they've lusted after for 40 years on every front, whether it had anything to do with terrorism or not. Passing all kinds of corporate friendly laws, setting back environmentalism, expanding law enforcement powers (FISA), the evisceration of the Constitution, the elevation of executive power above all else, ect, ect, ect. Remember the freedom tankers? Yes, they even used it for financial gain. The Consitution is meaningless to them.


And they damned near had an absolute lock on power. We are just beginning to see the damage and illegal behavior they perpetrated on the US. And you can believe they are fighting tooth and nail to keep it all secret.

Bottom line? we may never recover from what they did in their pursuit of absolute power.

[standlee5]

How did this guy get elected? It's Minnesota for god's sake not Michganistan.

[toldyouso21]

Another similarity: Hitler had the Nuremberg decision in which the German government granted him and all others immunity from war crimes. Of course this was later overturned by the international court and offered as proof of prior knowledge of deliberate and wilful intent to commit atrocities. In 2006, Bush had the Republican Congress grant him and others immunity for war crimes and for breaking FISA.

If the acts were so legal, why did he need an immunity law--and how does his contrived immunity differ from Hitler's? Then there is the deliberate breaking of and removal of our signature from the Geneva Conventions in May of 2005. NOT the moves of people who really feel their cause is right--but the moves of criminals who are afraid of later repercussions.