RUTHFULLY YOURS

Two years ago Long wanted to return to Oklahoma from Qatar, where he had been living with his wife and child, teaching English for a living. But he was unable to get back to the United States because his name was on the no-fly list. He claimed the only reason his name was on the list was because he was Muslim, that no-fly lists were “Islamophobic,” and that he had no affiliations with anyone that would raise suspicion about him.

Long got a lot of media attention as leftists rushed to his defense. Naturally CAIR got in on the act and successfully advocated for having Long’s name removed from the list long enough for him to return to Oklahoma. (Geez, what’s the point of being on this list if your name can be removed temporarily so you can fly?)

Once back in the states, the FBI continued their surveillance and after an incident with the police, Long’s name was put back on the no-fly list, making it impossible for him to travel back to Qatar. As you might imagine, this led to more outrage from the left, resulting in, among other things, an appearance by Long (along with a representative from CAIR) on MSNBC – the station of the stupid.

Fast forward a bit and Long takes a bus to Mexico where he hops a flight to Qatar. Per Patrick Poole:

A man, who just two years ago was the poster boy for the far-Left media’s attacks against the U.S. government’s no-fly list for “unfairly” targeting Muslims, finds himself and several family members sitting in a Turkish prison — arrested earlier this month near the Turkey-Syria border as members of an ISIS cell. (snip)

U.S. and Turkish officials confirmed Long’s arrest to PJ Media, saying that he was arrested along with eight others operating along the Turkish-Syrian border. So far, no U.S. media outlet has reported on his arrest.

Assuming this story proves to be accurate and Long is affiliated with ISIS, there will be much that can be said about it. Among other things, it will blow a giant hole in the patriotic-Muslims-have-served-with-honor-in-our-military argument that is often used in conjunction with not-all-Muslims-are-terrorists (duh) distraction. What I most expect, however, is that the left will claim Long became radicalized because he was persecuted by American law enforcement.

I will continue to monitor this story and write updates as information becomes available.