On 31 March 2017, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein sent a message (PDF) to LtGen Marshall Webb, Commander of Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command, complaining about Mr. Patrick Dunleavy, an instructor at the Air Force Special Ops School. Weinstein claimed Dunleavy was “a known promoter of anti-Muslim propaganda”:

Mr. Dunleavy is a senior fellow with Steven Emerson’s Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), an anti-Muslim propaganda organization, and has also made intolerant bigoted statements against Islam and Muslims…Mr. Dunleavy also wrote a book in which he argues that the role of a prison chaplain is used by Muslims as a cover to “serve terrorism.”

Mr. Dunleavy has been closely associated with other anti-Muslim hate groups such as the Clarion Project and the Center for Security Policy. He has interviewed with Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project and makes regular appearances on Secure Freedom Radio, a radio show hosted by Frank Gaffney’s Center for Security Policy, another recognized anti-Muslim hate propaganda tool.

(The IPT responded in Dunleavy’s defense.)

In the long list of things Mikey doesn’t like, he fails to mention anything about Dunleavy’s actual job or duty performance. Rather, Mikey Weinstein complains that because of Dunleavy’s beliefs, his “access” to US troops should be terminated:

It is our respectful recommendation for the Air Force…to prevent him from conducting any further “training” of our Air Force personnel.

(At the bottom of the letter, Weinstein indicated it was cc’d to CSAF Gen David Goldfein, in an apparent attempt to make it seem “serious.”  One person not included on the letter was LtCol Christopher Portele, who actually oversees the school about which Weinstein was complaining.)

If Mikey Weinstein truly believes, as he loudly proclaims, in liberty, why would he have the US government deny someone a position based on their associations and beliefs?

Apparently, Mikey Weinstein doesn’t believe in liberty — at least not for those who don’t think like he does.

It is also notable that Mikey Weinstein’s group has routinely claimed it never acts without a complaint from a service member — yet Weinstein cites no troops’ complaints in this case.

So why did Mikey Weinstein complain? It was “copy/paste.” Again. (And again.)

It seems Weinstein was coat-tailing CAIR, who made essentially the same complaint just a few days prior. Weinstein is so out of ideas he’s making reports just so he can report on those reports.  Now he can’t even come up with an original complaint, about which he can report, so he can report on the report of his own complaint.  Mikey Weinstein is a self-licking ice cream cone.

While Weinstein demanded to be kept informed of the Air Force’s response to his complaint, it turns out they’ve already responded to CAIR:

Matt Durham, an AFSOC spokesman, said Webb’s office has received the letter.

“We thank them for bringing this to our attention,” Durham said. He pointed out that Dunleavy is guest lecturer and not a member of the school’s permanent faculty, and is not teaching the course in question at the moment.

“Please be assured that AFSOC promotes an environment with a positive culture, and respects all religious faiths,” Durham added.

Even more interesting, Weinstein was successfully called out by the very man he tried to have ejected.

It seems Mr. Dunleavy eventually saw a copy of the email, so he turned around and communicated directly with Weinstein, as published on Weinstein’s site:

I received a copy of your letter to Lt General Marshall Webb dated March 31, 2017 and have a simple question for Mikey. Have you ever attended the Dynamics of International Terrorism course or heard me teach a class ?

Best regards,

Patrick

Weinstein — rarely short on words — answered with a near novel length reply, but buried his answer in the middle:

…To attend one of your “classes”…one must be a government employee, either military or civilian…neither I nor the many members of our MRFF staff are in that particular status…

In other words, Mikey Weinstein has no idea what Patrick Dunleavy is teaching — yet he is demanding the government prevent him from teaching, not because of what Dunleavy is doing, but because of what he believes.

There’s your “military religious freedom,” Mikey Weinstein style. Believe as he does, or suffer the consequences — and he would have the government enforce his bigotry.

Seems like somebody tried that in Europe. In the 1930s.

Also reported on Judicial Watch.  Dunleavy responded to CAIR here, though his response equally applies to Mikey Weinstein.  You can sign up for the Dynamics of International Terrorism course here.

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