Editor’s Note: This letter was edited to conform to The Wood Word’s guidelines for length and general content.

Dear editor,
President Trump’s recent executive order on immigration has been met with harsh criticism, and rightfully so. It’s xenophobic, discriminatory and un-American.

Let’s be clear, though. This is not a “Muslim ban.” Of the ten countries with the highest population of Muslims… only Iran is affected. This is not a “defense against another 9/11.” Nineteen hijackers carried out the Sept. 11 attacks. Fifteen of them were from Saudi Arabia, two were from the United Arab Emirates, one was from Egypt and one was from Lebanon. The ban does not include any of these countries.

So, what is the purpose of the ban? It’s grandstanding… It’s a smokescreen. It distracts us from the wall, the questionable cabinet picks and maybe some future actions.

Trump has another goal. He wants those countries to retaliate. He wants them to give us a reason to vilify them. It echoes back to George W. Bush. After the Sept. 11 attacks, Islamophobia was at an all-time high in the United States. When we invaded Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with the attack on us, the vast majority of Americans supported the move. Bush used our fear to gain support for the war…

What if Trump is following the same strategy? What if these countries retaliate against us? He’ll point to their retaliation as a sign that he was right… and we’ll forget that this was his plan all along.

It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but it’s plausible. This should be a wake-up call to everyone. So if this is setting up something far worse, there’s one thing we need to say: We see what you’re doing, Mr. President. We’re watching you.

Stephen Mushal
BA Class of 2014
MA Class of 2015
MBA Class of 2018