EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Pat Harrigan fought Islamic terrorism overseas. He explains why recent terrorist attacks show that America can't choose "appeasement over strength"
"I have seen in combat what happens when leaders choose appeasement over strength," the Green Beret said. "The price is always measured in lives, and it is always paid by the innocent.”
A decorated combat veteran-turned congressman is cautioning Americans about the dangers of Islamic terrorism, following an Islamic terrorist attack in Manchester where a foreign jihadist stabbed Jews to death on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Rep. Pat Harrigan (R., N.C.), a former Green Beret, told the Washington Reporter that the result of weak immigration policies in Europe is “blood in the streets and families left defenseless.”
“The Manchester synagogue attack was carried out by a Syrian migrant who became a British citizen, murdered innocent people, and strapped on a fake suicide vest to slow down police,” Harrigan explained. “His very name, Jihad, captures what happens when Europe abandons security, throws open its borders, and refuses to confront radical Islam.”
But Harrigan noted that Western Europe’s longstanding open borders policies were recently complemented by a decision by some American allies to recognize the non-existent country of “Palestine,” and he said that delusion further contributes to a hostile climate for Jews walking to synagogue.
“That same denial is on display as Britain recognizes a Palestinian state in the middle of this violence,” Harrigan added. “Rather than standing firm against extremism, European leaders continue to reward it, mistaking weakness for diplomacy and making their citizens even less safe.”
Harrigan — a two-time Bronze Star recipient of the Bronze Star — has fought that type of Islamic radicalism overseas, and he does not want to see it in America. He believes that President Donald Trump’s emphasis on securing America’s borders will ensure that American Jews are not stabbed to death by immigrants named Jihad.
“America cannot afford to follow that path” of Western Europe, Harrigan cautioned. “Under President Trump, we secure our borders, enforce strict vetting, and put national security first. I have seen in combat what happens when leaders choose appeasement over strength. The price is always measured in lives, and it is always paid by the innocent.”