Famously, Washington, DC was built on a swamp. This must explain the swamp feverishness of our leaders, particularly when it comes to subjects like Islam (it's peace! it's peace!) and  jihad (make it go away!) and Islamic jihadist threats to the Republic (fire the guy who mentions it!).

This last bit, of course, refers to the termination of Stephen Coughlin, the Pentagon's sole expert on Islamic law and how it validates jihad terrorism. According to the Washington Times' Bill Gertz, this termination was  instigated by Hesham Islam, the "personal close confidante" to the Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, because Coughlin didn't present a sufficiently goo-goo-eyed vision of Islam (the religion, not the confidante).

Today, as noted below, Claudia Rosett laid out a new set of reasons why Hesham Islam's cousel is not to be trusted. This even includes a series of questions raised about  the veracity of Islam's resume. The official reaction? Too soon to tell from my perch at swamp's edge, but it is not far-fetched to imagine dull, glassy-eyed inaction--i.e., stonewalling--on the part of the Pentagon.

CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT, CALL YOUR OFFICE.

Meanwhile, as we await hearings on the Hill (cross your fingers), I now post a letter written by a reader on reading Claudia's article. It serves well as the model of how a NORMAL AMERICAN reacts to Pentagon perfidy.       

Diana, I just read Claudia Rosett's investigative piece on Mr. Hesham Islam. This whole scenario just keeps getting unbelievably worse.
 
I did criminal investigations, many of them rather complex, for ten of my 22 years in criminal justice.
 
Here is what is so troubling to me:
 
When someone like Claudia Rosett begins to pose questions about someone's history, especially a person who is in Mr. Hesham's postion of immense trust, and no one within his military supervisory structure is able or willing to verify claims that Hesham has made about his background, that should set off some loud alarms, not only for Ms. Rosett, but also for the superiors above him.
 
What the hell is going on here? 

Anyone who wishes to do so can find out about my background by contacting the ---  Police Bureau, the --- County Sheriff's Office, the --- State Public Defender's Office, --- State University, and any of the public school districts in which I taught.  I signed more than one release from liability to have background checks done on my applications for employment.
 
I can also tell you that when any employee or applicant for the law enforcement agencies in which I worked was found to have falsified or left out anything material to his employment from his background history, there was an immediate termination of employment.  Today.  End of story.
 
So, what's with our military people that no one in Hesham Islam's chain of command even seems to be the least bit curious as to why Ms. Rosett, with all her research and resources, cannot verify what Hesham is claiming in his background?  That is more than cause for red lights and sirens.  And the absence of any red lights and sirens above Hesham Islam is cause for even greater alarm.
 
Diana, this whole situation reeks to high Heaven.  When I read Rosett's piece I had to write to you and tell you that there is a lot more wrong here than you first thought. ...

Yes.