This petition is not about Islamophobia or a projection of hate from people in the United States directed towards others. This petition is a reasonable response to expressions of hate that are coming into the United States from people who come from elsewhere in the world. We can find a way to forgive this act of violence against people in our country, but we are not willing to continue to place ourselves at unnecessary risk.
In most cases military pilots represent the best and the finest the their country has to offer. In many cases military pilots act as ambassadors on behalf of their countries. In the case of Saudi Arabia if these pilots that they are sending here for training are their ambassadors for their military and if these pilots in training are the best and the brightest that their country has to offer then we can no longer welcome them to live and work in our communities or within our military installations that our in the United States.
Just like the majority of communities throughout the United States, Pensacola Florida is full of people who are welcoming and gracious and tolerant of other people but the act of terrorism that occurred at NAS Pensacola by the hand of a member of a foreign military force that should not have even been here in the first place is more than we are willing to bare moving forward. This is not the first time that we find Saudi Nationals being involved in the commission of acts of terrorism against the people of the United States. And now because of the act of terrorism at NAS Pensacola, the peace loving people of Pensacola are never going to look at Saudi military personnel the same way again. Most of the people in Pensacola are going to look at Saudi military personnel with suspicion, discomfort and in some cases with hostility and that does not make for a safe environment for the people of Pensacola and it is also very unsafe for the Saudi military personnel as well.
This petition is meant to send a very clear message to the President, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper and the message is this:
The United States and it’s contractors train military forces all over the world and so there is no reason to have any non-NATO military forces living in our communities and training within the boarders of the United States on any military installations within the United States. In particular the U.S. military should not be bringing any foreign military personnel into the United States from any country where people are known to be more prone to radicalization and anti-American sentiment.
If the Saudi government would like to do something to help our community and respect us as their ally in the middle east region then they should help pay for the costs of relocating the training elsewhere. Any financial loses that our community may experience from the transfer of training could be made up by having the members of this community participate in the project of the relocation.
There is another elephant in the room that is very uncomfortable for many people to discuss, but we are all going to have to start discussing the question of: “What is it about the ideology of Islam that is leading so many people from around the world, more than any other movement, to commit acts of terror, suicide, enslavement, use of force? And what can we do to stop this from happening?” It’s sad, thing to have to discuss and it is obvious that there are many Muslims that are not radicalized, but society will have to find a way to protect people from monsters who are becoming radicalized because of something that is in some way related to Islam according to the perpetrators. At the core of this issue is the possibility that government, public institutions and law enforcement may need to treat Islam differently, more like a movement that may inspire radicalization rather than a religion with the full rights that are afforded to other peaceful religions until we can overcome this problem.