"Death to America" -- They Live Among Us

April 15th, "Patriots Day" in Boston, was a grim reminder that radical Islamists aren't just the subject of a foreign news headline anymore. They could be your neighbor, your co-worker or that nice young man that sits next to your kid at the community college.

A radicalized terrorist lived here in Cape Girardeau for a short time. Twenty-one-year-old Quazi Nafis, a former student at Southeast Missouri State University, was arrested this past February in New York. He was accused of trying to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank with what he thought was a 1,000-pound car bomb. He told a judge in federal court, "I had intentions to commit a violent jihadist act." Fortunately his actions were part of an FBI sting and were unsuccessful.

Since 9/11, the Heritage Foundation has documented 40 attempted terrorist attacks against the United States.

The families and friends of three dead Boston Marathon spectators, an MIT policeman, and over 150 wounded and maimed victims now know the horrific reality of terrorism. The captured 19-year-old terrorist involved in the Boston Marathon bombings was just another likeable student at UMass Dartmouth.

Is America about to become another Israel? We don't have neighboring countries shooting rockets at us, but we do have citizens and immigrants that have become radicalized and live among us, just waiting for their moment to kill. At a hearing in March, an official from Customs and Border Protection said 40% of illegal aliens in this country have overstayed their visa and have disappeared into the population.

It was only seven months ago that an American ambassador and three other Americans were killed by Islamic extremists in Libya, and anti-American protests were held in 20 countries over a YouTube video made by a U.S. citizen. Radical jihadists chanted "Death to America." They ripped and burned our flag at our embassies and raised the black flags of al-Qaeda.

And what did this administration do? Our government appeased the radicals by publicly apologizing for the behavior of one citizen in a free society of over 300 million people. This American citizen was imprisoned and has since been forgotten.

This politically-correct administration loves to make lofty speeches invoking religious tolerance and diversity but refuses to admit that a small faction of the Muslim religion is dedicated to the destruction of America.

After the Boston bombings, it's time to face reality. When the security of innocent Americans is at risk, being a Catholic, a Methodist or a Muslim should not factor in. When Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, no one cared what his religious preference was.

If individuals in the United States are communicating with overseas radicals and visiting terrorists' websites, our counterterrorism units need to compile that digital information and have local law enforcement agencies in their individual communities follow up.

Israel and its citizens have dealt with terrorism for decades. Political correctness is not in their vocabulary. Their borders are secure. Their citizens are vigilant. And their government is constantly proactive, not reactive.

American citizens deserve the same.

God bless those souls that were taken from us on April 15th. May they rest in peace.