Absolutely no connection

(Rezwan Ferdaus)

It was reported last night that a 26-year-old Massachusetts man, Rezwan Ferdhaus, was arrested for plotting to blow up the Pentagon and the US Capitol Building, as well as trying to aid al Qaeda.

A few excerpts from the FoxNews.com article:

Rezwan Ferdaus of Ashland, Mass., was arrested Wednesday in Framingham after undercover FBI agents delivered weapons Ferdaus allegedly sought for the alleged plan. The stash included what he thought was 25 pounds of C-4 explosives, as well as three grenades and six fully-automatic AK-47 assault, a press release from the Department of Justice reads....

Ferdaus, who is a Northeastern University graduate with a degree in physics, is accused of a plot to bring violent “jihad” against the U.S, who he described as "enemies of Allah."

He also supplied eight mobile phones to undercover FBI agents who he thought were recruiters for Al Qaeda, authorities said. The phones were modified to be used as electrical switches for IEDs, and Ferdaus thought they could be used to kill American soldiers, the affidavit said....Ferdaus said “that was exactly what I wanted,” when he was told one of the devices killed three U.S. soldiers and injured four to five others in Iraq in June, authorities said.

"I want the public to understand that Mr. Ferdaus' conduct, as alleged in the complaint, is not reflective of a particular culture, community or religion," said Carmen Ortiz, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

Why is it that federal authorities always feel compelled to add this ridiculous boilerplate when talking about terrorists? Do they think that no one will notice that all the terrorists happen to be Muslim? Do they think the public is too stupid to draw any connection? Is political correctness such an overriding principle these days that it must be invoked to deny the most obvious realities? Do they think that such a statement in this context will be greeted by anything but mockery?

By this logic, we should refrain from vilifying al Qaeda by attributing bad intentions to their culture as well.

Ms. Ortiz might as well have concluded, "Our diversity is our strength."