Latest Right Wing Furor Over Missile Defense Agency Logo Debunked

by Karen Hatter | February 27, 2010 at 07:26 am

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Frank Gaffney, of the Center for Security Policy, a well known and prolific Right Wing ideologue, has been touting that the newest logo being used by the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, in his opinion, bears a resemblance to the Obama campaign logo used during then candidate Barack Obama's ultimately successful run for president.

Mr. Gaffney has written a voluminous body of work on his beliefs regarding what he calls "Islamofascism" and its influence throughout the world.

Pertaining to the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency logo, he has also indicated that the symbol appears to display a stylized star and crescent, a nod to an Islamic symbol.

Richard Lehner, of the Missile Defense Agency, explains that the symbol was adopted by the agency 3 years ago, during the Bush administration, to save money.

Mr. Gaffney has previously accused President Obama of using secret code language to communicate with Muslims when the President has addressed members from the Muslim world.

In the past, Mr. Gaffney has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy during the President Ronald Reagan's administration from 1983 through 1987.

Frank Gaffney was a speaker at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which occurred in Washington D.C., beginning Thursday, February 18 ending on Saturday, February 19, 2010. Mr. Gaffney gave a lecture entitled Secular and Religious Transnationalists.

According to Richard Lehner of the MDA, the agency added the second, more contemporary, three-colored logo to its recruiting materials three years ago as a cost-saving procedure over the continuing five-color logo. The newer design was added to the agency's updated website last fall, where both now appear.

For those of us who in high school days may have been symbolically challenged by some Shakespearean lines, Lehner provides this explanation:

"The symbolism of the design is that it shows missile defense as a global system to defend the US, our deployed forces and allies and friends, as depicted by the path of an interceptor missile and a flash (not a star) denoting a missile intercept."

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stejeb

at 07:45 on February 27th, 2010

Paranoid or just senility creeping in? I read a piece about him some time ago and thought he sounded a bit flaky.

I doubt if Richard Lehner's statement will change his beliefs, after all, you would think he would at least have checked this all out before making his wild remarks.

Karen Hatter

at 08:36 on February 27th, 2010

What is most dangerous about extremists, Stejeb, in this case, Frank Gaffney is a Right Wing extremist, they are well aware of the power of the 'sound bite' and in most cases, the kookier the information or 'conspiracy theory' the more widely accepted it becomes.

This crap gets out there and, before you know it, it's everywhere as background noise.

I recall that during then candidate Senator John McCain's campaign, even after he corrected a member of his audience, who had the microphone, parrotting the 'Obama is a Muslim' rhetoric, telling the woman that she was incorrect, when asked later after Senator McCain's interaction with her, regarding her belief that then candidate Obama was a Muslim, she said she still believed it.

There are all manner of oddball theories out there, like the birther nonsense, that will continue to float out there in the looney atmosphere, possibly until the end of time.

Mainstream media must be blamed for often picking up this nonsense then, when it is debunked, as in the case of this logo, often there is deafening silence from them, no follow up/clean up to correct their role in speading this foolishness.

Also, please check out Susan's piece, Missile Defense Logos Look Like Obama Campaign Logos, Stirs Talk.

tikun

at 08:49 on February 27th, 2010

Plenty of craziness to go round. Ron Paul and his Fed Reserve conspiracy theories. I am just as concerned about all the violent and left wing conspiracy theories that are taken as truth in the here and now.

Karen Hatter

at 08:58 on February 27th, 2010

Right Wing, often violent, conspiracies, are also occurring in the " .... here and now", Tikun.

stejeb

at 13:22 on February 27th, 2010

This whole thing about violence and plots has moved ths away from the article's line, which is about Frank Gaffney's rather flakey sounding accusations which fly in the face of reality.

It doesn't matter in the context of this story who killed Malcolm X, or why, nothing to do with Islam, or violence of any sort against any body.

So, to get it back on track, I contend that Frank Gaffney is a flake, that his words, which unfortunately will be taken out of context, will inflame and incite more unwarranted and undeserved attention away from real issues and towards the present administration.

So from Frank Gaffney's and his supporters' point of view......job done!

Karen Hatter

at 13:43 on February 27th, 2010

Thanks for the re-direct, Stejeb.

Frank Gaffney has been traveling all over the U.S., possibly receiving hefty honorariums, doing his best to weave all of the kooky 'Obama is a closet Muslim' stuff together.

I would hope this latest effort, since it's been revealed that the logo design was unveiled UNDER THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION, maybe, will help to discredit him but, among those who are attracted to this kind of foolishness, I don't expect anything can reach them on whatever planet they're on.

tikun

at 00:50 on March 2nd, 2010

Ah! self-righteousness is an old canard. Foolishness is what keeps us on our toes in lieu of honesty, intelligence, peace, patience and downright accuracy. Blinded by our personal agendas and unwilling to be honest with ourselves and of course others we pile up the information so high only a person with an endless amount of time on their hands can uncover the truth from the fiction presented most of the time on Now Public. If this is really news then we have sunk into an abyss of craziness that only silence can unfold.

Karen Hatter

at 07:05 on March 2nd, 2010

So true, Tikun, as many refuse to see beyond their own personal agendas to acknowledge the danger posed by many of the machinations of the extreme Right Wing of the Republican Party and its extremist ideologues, whose positions tend to be very hawkish in nature, placing the nation and the entire world at even greater risk.