Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is no stranger to outlandish conspiracy theories but the former GOP presidential primary candidate took her theories to a new height in an interview earlier this week with the American Family Assocation’s Sandy Rios. Bachmann claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated various department of the U.S. government.

Bachmann told Rios (HT RightWingWatch):

It appears that there has been deep penetration in the halls of our United States government by the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood has been found to be an unindicted co-conspirator on terrorism cases and yet it appears that there are individuals who are associated with the Muslim Brotherhood who have positions, very sensitive positions, in our Department of Justice, our Department of Homeland Security, potentially even in the National Intelligence Agency. I am calling upon the Justice Department and these various departments to investigate through the Inspector General to see who these people are and what access they have to our information.

Listen to her (HT RightWingWatch):

Bachmann’s bizarre conspiracy theorizing about a “penetration” of the U.S. government matches closely with the conspiracy theories espoused by Center for Security Policy (CSP) President Frank Gaffney who in recent months has found himself ostracized by mainstream Republicans for his accusations about a Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the George W. Bush and Obama administrations as well as the American Conservative Union.
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The current system of combat pay for younger enlisted troops is unfair because while facing the greatest danger in combat deployments, low ranking soldiers receive a much smaller share of the financial benefits given to more senior officers, finds a newly released report by the Department of Defense.

The Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation [PDF] finds that overall pay compares favorably to the private-sector but the military should implement changes in combat and incentive pay. Specifically, the authors identify that establishing differentials in hazardous duty pay would more fairly compensate those soldiers who are exposed to the greatest dangers.

The report recommends that the DoD set “Hostile Fire Pay” at an amount higher than “Imminent Danger Pay” and establish “more than one level of Imminent Danger Pay to recognize different levels of exposure to danger.” Financial burdens on deployed soldiers could be lightened by instituting tax credits to replace the “Combat Zone Tax Exclusion.”

“Even if their tax bill is zero, they are going to get that credit back if it is refundable,” he added. The combat tax credit would be linked to coming under hostile fire, Tom Bush, the study’s director, told the Armed Forces Press Service.

The DoD should establish a “general career incentive pay authority” that isn’t linked to a specific career field but can offer career incentive pay in any field deemed critical, finds the report. President Obama’s letter of instruction to the review panel specifically identified mental health as one of those critical fields.

Statistics released by the Associated Press this month show that an average of one military suicide occurred each day in the first six months of 2012. “We must continue to fight to eliminate the stigma from those with post-traumatic stress and other mental health issues,” Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta wrote in an internal memo. “[We] cannot tolerate any actions that belittle, haze, humiliate or ostracize any individual, especially those who require or are responsibly seeking professional services.”

Shortly after the death of Osama bin Laden last year, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that al-Qaeda’s defeat is “within reach.” While Panetta has since stressed that the terror group still remains a significant threat, particularly in light if its resurgence in Yemen, he said in an interview with Reuters that only a “small handful” of al-Qaeda leaders remain. “We’ve not only impacted on their leadership, we’ve impacted on their capability to provide any kind of command and control in terms of operations,” Panetta said.

He also said Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia’s top counter terrorism official, told him that bin Laden’s death has had a significant impact on al-Qaeda’s ability to recruit:

“I asked him the question — as a result of the bin Laden raid, as a result of what we’ve done to their leadership, where are we with al Qaeda,” Panetta recounted, adding that al Qaeda and bin Laden “came out of Saudi Arabia.”

“Bin Nayef said, ‘For the first time, what I’m seeing is that young people are no longer attracted to al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia.’”

Panetta said that the U.S. will continue to go after al-Qaeda. “We’ll keep the pressure on at the top and we’ll keep going after their leadership,” Panetta said, adding, “But the real issue that will determine the end of al Qaeda is when they find it difficult to recruit any new people.”

Reuters notes that “[o]nly about eight hard-core al Qaeda leaders are still believed to be based in the lawless borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan, compared with dozens a few years ago.”

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has a long history of demonizing American Muslims. So it’s no great surprise that his hearing earlier this week on the radicalization of Muslims fell under attack as both a waste of time — Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-MI) commented that his time would be better spent discussing how to protect water resources for his constituents — and yet another example of King congratulating himself for his previous hearings attacking Muslims. But appearing on Fox News yesterday, King continued his factually challenged attack on Muslim Americans:

What I am very concerned about is that while the overwhelming majority of Muslims are good people, the fact is even though Muslims are 1 percent of the population, almost 90 percent of the terrorist crimes are carried out by the Muslim community. And there are not enough people in the community willing to step forward and speak out against this and cooperate with law enforcement.

Watch it:

While the scope of King’s assertion is unclear, the reality is that a small percentage of terrorist attacks and plots in the U.S. are the result of Islamic extremism — 56 percent have been perpetrated by right-wing extremists, 30 percent by ecoterrorists and 12 percent by Islamic extremists:

And King’s claim that Muslims are simply unwilling to pushback against extremism appears to be refuted by recent reports of aspiring Muslims terrorists finding difficulty in raising funds in New York. Last year, a Gallup poll found that Muslim Americans are more likely (89 percent) to reject violence than any other U.S. religious group and nearly all Muslim Americans (92 percent) have no sympathy for al-Qaeda.

King also claimed that “it’s so important that the NYPD focus on [the Muslim community]. That’s why it’s important that the NYPD and law enforcement not give into political correctness.” But that claim ignores the FBI’s concerns about the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim businesses, Mosques and student groups in New York and New Jersey.

FBI Newark Special Agent in Charge Michael Ward complained in March that the NYPD’s spying was making the FBI’s job harder, telling reporters, “It’s starting to have a negative impact. When people pull back cooperation it creates additional risks. It creates blind spots. It hinders our ability to have our finger on the pulse of what’s going on around the state.”

Surprisingly, as House Homeland Security Chairman, King appears to absorb little information from the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Department of Homeland Security.