Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has been criticized by liberals in the media for daring to suggest recent terrorist attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, and Brussels, call for monitoring of extremist activity in Muslim communities.
Cruz defended his suggestion, saying a similar plan in New York prior to mayor Bill de Blasio doing away with it “was a successful program.”
The program “was set up under Mayor Michael Bloomberg to monitor and to work cooperatively with the Muslim community to prevent radicalization and to stop radical Islamic terrorist plots before it occurs,” Cruz said.
Here’s some more bad news for people that oppose the Cruz plan – According to Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, they’re already monitoring Muslim areas for extremist activity.
Via CNS News:
On Fox Business Network’s Varney & Co. on Wednesday, host Stuart Varney asked Sheriff Clarke, “Ted Cruz has said, after the Brussels attack, he’s in favor of patrolling Muslim neighborhoods in America. You’re a cop. You would do the patrolling, you’d organize the patrolling. Would you do it?”
Sheriff Clarke said, “Sure, and we already are. And in New York they’re doing it under the Handschu agreement, which allows the NYPD and their demographics units to go anywhere in these Muslim communities that the public is allowed to go.
“They do not do rolling surveillance, they do not do rogue spying,” said Clarke. “But they’re looking for evidence of hot spots. They’re looking for evidence of radicalization, those sorts of things.”
He continued, “Look, we have an obligation to protect those communities as well.”
Clarke went on to cite an example where monitoring such activity could have saved American lives – San Bernardino.
“Had they done a better job in San Bernardino,” Clarke said, “they may have been able to uncover [the terror plot].”
“The neighbors knew something was up,” he added.
The sheriff went on to say that not patrolling in these areas is actually detrimental to Muslims because “many” of them “do not stand for this [radical Islam]” and “want to help as well.”
Here is a report on Cruz original comments calling for increased patrolling of radical Muslim communities …
Comment: Where do you stand on Cruz’ proposal to patrol Muslim communities for signs of extremist activity? Good idea or no? Share your thoughts below.
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