Steve Klein
September 12, 2012
HERE’S a story in the Los Angeles Times about Steve Klein, an insurance agent and activist who was involved in the making of Innocence of Muslims, the movie that sparked the violence in Libya and Egypt. He said the purpose of the film was to provoke local terrorists so as to identify them and that, contrary to news reports, the main backer of the film was an American Christian, not an Israeli Jew. From the piece:
He said he did not “give a darn” if it offended Muslims.
The intent of the film, he said, was to help identify people who sympathized with Osama bin Laden and terrorists.
“I am not responsible for the actions that they go out and do,” Klein said. “Why would I be bothered? I told the truth. I have told the truth. I will continue to tell the truth.”
—- Comments —–
Terry Morris writes:
Who says Innocence of Muslims “sparked” the violence in Libya and Egypt?
Laura writes:
Apparently, the movie was played repeatedly by the Egyptian media. I think it’s okay to speak of it as a factor although obviously it is not the ultimate cause. The world speaks of it as if it was the cause of the violence. The whole world is watching while mobs, who supposedly are reacting to a short clip of a movie, rampage and kill. And much of the world takes this movie seriously as a motive. Even people who are critical of Muslim sensitivity still are angry that anyone would produce such a movie, as they are angry at Terry Jones, as if he caused mob violence. For an example of this reaction, see this Atlantic piece which speaks of Jones as provoking unrest. People even in the West blame the filmmakers.
Sheila C. writes:
Somehow, almost unmentioned by the American press, we have the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff contacting Pastor Jones in Florida (to whom some rumors attributed the film) asking him to explicitly pull any backing or approval. Since when does a sitting military officer contact a private American citizen, asking him to curtail his freedom of speech? Most people are too ignorant, uninformed, and incurious to realize what a shocking thing this is. Of course, it is also highly unlikely that General Dempsey did this at his own behest; this seems to follow Obama’s standard modus operendi (having someone else do his dirty work and then claim ignorance and deny responsibility).
It will also be interesting to note whether the murder (notice I deliberately do not use everyone’s favorite word here; it was not a “tragedy”) of the American ambassador will have any impact on Obama’s re-election chances. Whereas the Iranian hostage crisis served, along with all our domestic economic troubles, to help end Carter’s disastrous administration, the America of 30+ years ago was not down to 63 percent non-hispanic Whites (and that’s including all the Indians and Muslims the government counts as White).
Our decline and fall continues apace.
Laura writes:
Not only was it shocking that Dempsey should ask a private citizen to curtail his free speech, which was what Jones was requested to do before when he was planning to burn the Koran, but it’s shocking that anyone believes that deference to Muslims will bring such incidents to a halt.
Paul writes:
Shocking and disgusting is Obama’s response to the Islamic attacks against America in Egypt and Libya. Why are Marines or drones not killing the “protestors” outside the American embassy in Egypt? Why are Marines not demolishing Libya? Within days or maybe hours, Bush had special ops on the ground in Afghanistan after 9/11. They were killing the Taliban. Egypt and Libya are in the exact same status as Afghanistan was after 9/11. They are harboring murderers or would-be murderers of Americans.
Romney should be saying more than he has said regardless of the Media’s response and the election. He should be calling a spade a spade. He should be saying the above. The election is a tossup right now anyway; so just do the right thing and call Obama what he is. Obama is a leftist who has no desire to defend Christianity and the West against Islam unless his political life is at stake. Obama’s presidency hangs in the balance.
Ibitsaam writes:
Al Jazeera reported this morning that it has come to light that it is in fact a group of right wing Christians in collaboration with a group of Egyptian Copts that spearheaded this movie, in a bid to destabilize the Morsi government.
“[I]t’s shocking that anyone believes that deference to Muslims will bring such incidents to a halt.”
Really? I suppose people would have to stop mocking our Prophet, religion and burning our religious books in order to find out.
Laura writes:
What kind of God believes murder is an appropriate response to blasphemy and the destruction of a sacred book?
