There are people plotting and funding terrorism right here in the U.S. Are we doing enough to stop these people, or are we still too afraid to take action because we might offend someone? Ask yourself this: What is more important, being politically correct or stopping terrorism and its supporters?

The September 11 attacks on America took many of its citizens by surprise. It may have been a wake-up call, but there was plenty of terror directed against Americans before 911. As Daniel Pipes has noted:

In all, 800 persons lost their lives in the course of attacks by militant Islam on Americans before September 2001 - more than killed by any other enemy since the Vietnam War. (Further, this listing does not include the dozens more Americans in Israel killed by militant Islamic terrorists.)

So how are we doing here in the homeland, especially against certain Islamic groups alleged to be involved in the funding and support of terrorist groups? The short-term record is better than the long-term one. In 1997, terrorism expert Steve Emerson pointed out in two Wall Street Journal articles about the Clinton Administration:

The Islamic groups' records, as well as official records released by the White House, show that the Executive Branch, the State Department, and the FBI continue to meet with radical or anti-American Islamic groups that openly support terrorist leaders (like Hasan at-Turabi of the Sudan) or even raised money for the defense of terrorists (such as for Musa Abu Marzook)...

The radical groups have gained political clout derived from their growing demographic influence. In addition, there's a spirit of moral relativism and political multiculturalism that expands the definition of acceptable political groups to include even Islamic extremist groups. To which I reply, if they meet with these groups there is no reason not to meet with the Ku Klux Klan, the Nation of Islam, and other extremists.

Have things improved under the Bush administration? In May 2002, an FBI agent presented a letter to Congress detailing "how the FBI in Washington ignored and hindered attempts" to investigate suspected 911 terrorist accomplice Zacarias Moussaoui. This is not exactly reassuring.

There has been progress made against terrorism here in the United States since 911. On May 2, 2002 the U.S. connected an Islamic charity, the Benevolence International Foundation, with funding of al-Qaeda. On February 20, 2003 the FBI arrested Sami Al-Arian, a University of South Florida professor, describing him "as the North American leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad." This last Wednesday, another member of a group of Buffalo, NY area residents pleaded guilty to charges he provided "material support" to the al-Qaeda network. And just today, the FBI announced that it "has stepped up ongoing investigations of alleged U.S. supporters of the terror organizations Hezbollah and Hamas in at least two dozen U.S. cities."

While I am gratified with the successes, I am also alarmed to find out what has been, and is, going on within U.S. borders. Yes, we have made progress in the war against terror, but we must keep the pressure up on governemnt officials like FBI Director Robert Mueller, so they don't get soft because of political pressures from groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) or American Muslim Council (AMC).

On the other hand, I must commend the Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA) for taking a strong stand against extreme Islam and for warning us about groups like the AMC.

Write to your Federal and State representatives and urge them to remain tough in the war on terror: