POL: PROBE MUSLIMS IN MILITARY

By BRAD HAMILTON

July 25, 2004 -- A Republican running for Congress in Westchester says Muslims in the U.S. military should be investigated immediately for possible terror ties.

Richard Hoffman, a 33-year-old longshot to unseat four-term incumbent Rep. Nita Lowey, cited four examples of trouble involving Muslims, including the recent disappearance of Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, who went missing in Iraq and then turned up in Beirut.

"One or two, it's a coincidence, but over and over again, we're starting to see a pattern," said Hoffman.

Hoffman, who's running a distant second in the 18th Congressional District, which covers Westchester plus part of the Bronx and Rockland County, said Arabs in the armed forces could be working to undermine national security. You don't have to be an Arab to be a Muslim.

"We want to make sure that these people aren't infiltrating the military as some kind of sleeper cell," he said.

But his controversial comments have received a thumbs-down — from his own party.

"I have never heard anyone call for such a thing," said Bo Harmon, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Then shame on him!  He is in a position where it is expected of him.

Why wouldn't they try to infiltrate the U.S. military? It's the oldest trick in the book.