Evangelical Christians Labeled as ‘Extremists’ by Pentagon

The Pentagon is the nation’s hub for military activity. One would think this nerve center would be hard at work training the next generation of leaders to fight terrorists and other extremist groups. They are… except you might be very surprised at what the Pentagon is classifying as an “extremist” group.

According to a report by Todd Starnes, “The Department of Defense classified Catholics and Evangelical Christians as religious extremists similar to Al-Qaeda, according to training materials obtained by the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty.”

The revelations come just days after Judicial Watch discovered a separate Pentagon training document that depicted the Founding Fathers as extremists and conservative organizations as hate groups.

The Chaplain Alliance uncovered in more than 1,500 pages of documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request after a U.S. Army training instructor told a Reserve unit based in Pennsylvania that Catholicism, Evangelical Christianity, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Sunni Muslims, and the Ku Klux Klan were examples of extremism.

What is going on here? Why are these types of characterizations allowed in Barack Obama’s Department of Defense?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCzuzwfCeew

In the training manual, which was obtained by Judicial Watch, it is noted that “many extremists will talk of individual liberties, states’ rights, and how to make the world a better place.” Wow… does that sound extremist to you? The manual actually states that “the colonists who sought to free themselves from British rule” are an example of “extremist ideologies and movements.”

And here’s one thing to note: The military training manuals use the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a reference! Are you kidding me? As Starnes reports in another column, the SPLC is “a leftwing organization that has a history of labeling conservative Christian organizations like the Family Research Council as ‘hate groups.'”

“Men and women of faith who have served the military faithfully for centuries shouldn’t be likened to those who have regularly threatened the peace and security of the United States,” Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance, said. “The materials we have received verify that the military views the Southern Poverty Law Center as a reliable source for Equal Opportunity briefings.”

With al Qaeda continuing to plan attacks against America, what in the world is the Pentagon doing focusing on Christians and using the SPLC as a reference? Something is definitely going wrong with our government, and I guess by saying that, I will now be labeled an extremist. Oh well.