Obama's confirmation-bias explodes

(Don't miss the quote from Lawrence Auster at the bottom).

After the Boston bombings, Obama talked tough about finding answers to how and why this could happen, in order to "keep our people safe". But in a sickening irony, Obama himself derails the investigation before it even begins. By placing ideological blinders on the investigation, he limits its scope to only approved subject areas. Obama fences off Islamic doctrine from discussion (consistent with his belief that Islam is a religion of peace), and reaffirms an unyielding commitment to absolute diversity, thereby guaranteeing that the investigation is biased from the start.

We have enough signs that the Boston bombings were yet another attack inspired by Islamic fundamentalism, so it's sickening to see Obama's own bias preventing us from identifying the Islamic motive of terrorists. He thereby assures that (a) we never examine the doctrine of Islam (b) we do nothing to stop the spread of Islam in the West and (c) more bombs will assuredly go off in the future.

Obama's bias is literally explosive. His thoughts are a homeland security threat. "If you see something, say something". I see a lethally biased president.

Statement by the President (video)

Obviously, tonight there are still many unanswered questions. Among them, why did young men who grew up and studied here, as part of our communities and our country, resort to such violence? How did they plan and carry out these attacks, and did they receive any help? The families of those killed so senselessly deserve answers. The wounded, some of whom now have to learn how to stand and walk and live again, deserve answers.

And so I've instructed the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security and our intelligence community to continue to deploy all the necessary resources to support the investigation, to collect intelligence, and to protect our citizens. We will determine what happened. We will investigate any associations that these terrorists may have had. And we'll continue to do whatever we have to do to keep our people safe.

One thing we do know is that whatever hateful agenda drove these men to such heinous acts will not -- cannot -- prevail. Whatever they thought they could ultimately achieve, they've already failed. They failed because the people of Boston refused to be intimidated. They failed because, as Americans, we refused to be terrorized...

That American spirit includes staying true to the unity and diversity that makes us strong -- like no other nation in the world. In this age of instant reporting and tweets and blogs, there's a temptation to latch on to any bit of information, sometimes to jump to conclusions. But when a tragedy like this happens, with public safety at risk and the stakes so high, it's important that we do this right. That's why we have investigations. That's why we relentlessly gather the facts. That's why we have courts. And that's why we take care not to rush to judgment -- not about the motivations of these individuals; certainly not about entire groups of people.

After all, one of the things that makes America the greatest nation on Earth, but also, one of the things that makes Boston such a great city, is that we welcome people from all around the world -- people of every faith, every ethnicity, from every corner of the globe. So as we continue to learn more about why and how this tragedy happened, let's make sure that we sustain that spirit.

He sounds tough, but the only thing Obama is "determined" about is his commitment to absolute diversity, not truth or safety.

Confirmation bias is: "a tendency of people to favor information that confirms their beliefs or hypotheses. People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way".

Obama clearly has some sort of bias or motivated reasoning when it comes to Islam. Presumably his time spent growing up in Indonesia convinced him that Islam is a religion of peace. His speech in Cairo in 2009 gives us a hint (video):

So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.

I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles — principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

... As the Holy Koran tells us, "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." That is what I will try to do — to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.

Part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.

As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam — at places like Al-Azhar University — that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.

I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story... And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers — Thomas Jefferson — kept in his personal library.

So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.

So Obama thinks he is uniquely qualified to understand Islam, and has nothing but praise for its teachings. It is only mistrust that divides us, not anything to do with Islam. And he actively defends Islam from negative stereotypes.

No amount of facts can penetrate his bias. Not 9/11, not the Arab Spring turning sour, not the Benghazi attack, not Major Nidal Hasan shouting "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire at Fort Hood, not the intractable problems of anti-Semitism and attacks on Christians in the Muslim world, not the violent responses to cartoons and films, not the calls for sharia law in the West, not the campaign against free speech at the UN, not the apocalyptic and genocidal thoughts of Ahmadinejad. None of it causes Obama to question Islam. None of this makes Obama wonder: gee, why are such thoughts so persistent in the Muslim world? Nope, it's all circumstantial causes to him, nothing to do with Islam. It's big, bad America and Israel acting the aggressor.

You have no doubt heard of nature versus nurture. When investigating disease, we look at both nature (genetics) and nurture (environment & lifestyle) for causes. Likewise, when searching for motives of Islamic terrorists we should be looking at both nature (Islamic doctrine) and nurture (e.g. American foreign policy). Obama, however, eliminates the nature/doctrine from debate, and permits only nurture to be investigated.

Muslims are instances of a type. Where is that archetype found? In Islamic doctrine, particularly the example of Muhammad. Doctrine is the genetic code of Muslims, so we are mad if we don't study Islamic doctrine to understand the typical interpretations of Islam that define Muslim archetypes. Doctrine and beliefs. Cause and effect. Ideas have consequences. It's not rocket science.

And it's not even necessary to categorically judge Islam as either peaceful or violent. The critical question is not "what is pure Islam?" but rather: is there enough material in Islam for terrorists to create a convincing argument that their version of Islam is correct? If so, then Islam needs to be treated as a dangerous ideology.

There are a few dimensions to this topic that I might expand on in following posts e.g. Does Islam sanction violence? How far does the biased view of Islam pervade throughout the Obama administration? The Islamic inspiration for the Boston bombings. And a round-up of some saner voices responding to the Boston bombings.

But for this post I simply want to point out that despite Obama's tough talking, if his biased view of Islam is wrong - and if Islamic doctrine does is in fact advocate violence - then it's Obama's own bias that is the greatest threat to homeland security.

The late Lawrence Auster sums up our fate if the biased view of Islam prevails (via Paul Nachman).

Lawrence Auster, The unchanging reality of Muslim terror ...

We will have terrorist attacks and threats of terrorists attacks and inconvenient and humiliating security measures and the disruption of ordinary activities FOREVER, as long as Muslims are in the West in any significant numbers. The Muslim terrorists are part and parcel of the Muslim community. According to a survey reported in the Scotsman, 24 percent of Muslims in Britain (I never describe them as “British Muslims”) believe the July 2005 London bombings were justified. Imagine that. Not only do these Muslims in Britain support terrorism against Britain, they’re not afraid to say so openly to a pollster! The unchangeable fact is that wherever there is a sizable Muslim community there will be a very large number of terror supporters and therefore—inevitably—actual terrorists as well.

This is our future, FOREVER, unless we stop Muslim immigration and initiate a steady out-migration of Muslims from the West until their remaining numbers are a small fraction of what they are now and there are no true believers among the ones that remain. Travelers from Muslim countries must be tightly restricted as well. Muslims must be essentially locked up inside the Muslim lands, with only carefully screened individuals allowed into the non-Muslim world.

The enemy are among us, in America, in Britain, in the West, and will remain so until we remove them from the West and indeed from the entire non-Muslim world. As extreme as this sounds, it is a no-brainer. There is no other solution. All other responses to this problem add up to meaningless hand-wringing. The hand-wringing will go on FOREVER, along with the terrorist attacks and the threat of terrorist attacks, until we take the ONLY STEPS that can actually and permanently end the threat.

File under: if you see something, say something.