CAIR Video: Rachel Maddow Says Right-Wing Wrong on Fort Hood Attack

THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW for November 6, 2009, MSNBC

just as the president was urging diligence and deliberation, WorldNetDaily, the conservative conspiracy theory factory best known for advancing the cause of the birthers, was charming its way into the hearts of millions with this -- this headline claiming that the alleged shooter, Army Major Nidal Hasan, was an advisor to President Obama`s White House transition office, implying that Mr. Hasan was on, essentially, the president`s payroll. It may surprise you to learn that that`s not true -- even though it`s a headline on WorldNetDaily..

But that`s not all. This is America`s conspiratorial right-wing today, this is WorldNetDaily, so, of course, there`s more. You might remember, last month, four Republican members of Congress held a press conference during which they demanded an investigation into the Council on American-Islamic Relations, because the group was allegedly deep into a secret plot to place Muslim interns on Capitol Hill. The book on which that publicity stunt was based was naturally published by WorldNetDaily.

One of the book`s co-authors today came out with this insight into the motives and allegiances that he`s divined about the alleged Fort Hood shooter. Quote, "Hasan is a terrorist, supporting the ideology of al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and, and yes, the Council on American-Islamic relations." Joining us now is Suhail Khan, senior from Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Institute for Global Engagement. He`s also a former senior political appointee in the administration of President George W. Bush. Mr. Khan, thanks very much for coming back on the show.

Suhail Khan, Institue for Global Engagement: Thank you for having me, Rachel.

Maddow: What`s your reaction when you hear a conservative writer equating al Qaeda and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which, of course, condemns violence and has long since specifically condemned the Fort Hood shootings? KHAN: It`s just another instance, a sad instance. You know, we are in a national period of mourning after the tragedy at Fort Hood, where we lost so many lives senselessly. This unfortunate incident where there was violence and people were killed and wounded. And it`s even more sad to see that there might be some who would use and exploit this strategy for their political partisan and worse, for their racist ends

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