Donald Trump's Flap With the Khans

I am still trying to make sense of this controversy concerning Donald Trump's latest flap-this time with the parents of Captain Humayun Khan, an American Muslim soldier who was killed fighting for America in Iraq in 2004. Mr and Mrs Khirz Khan, who are Pakistani immigrants, appeared onstage during the Democratic convention and Mr Khan lambasted Trump for his suggestion that Muslims should be barred from immigrating to the US due to the problem of Islamic terror. In an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Trump defended himself and questioned why Mrs Khan did not speak, the implication being that as a Muslim woman, she was required to take a back seat to her husband. He also drew more criticism when he answered Stephanopoulos' question about what "sacrifices" he himself as made quoting his experience in giving people jobs etc.

First of all, the bottom line is that their son, Captain Khan, died for his country. The Khans are Gold Star parents, and that must be respected above all else. Trump should have simply let it go. That said, I don't think his statements in his own defense have constituted that much of an attack on the Khans.

I also think we must draw a distinction on how the media has treated the Khan issue, doing everything it can to keep it alive, with the speaking appearance of Patricia Smith at the Republican convention. Mrs Smith, whose son, Sean Smith, died at Benghazi, has publicly accused Hillary Clinton of lying to her about the cause of the attack being over a video. Not only has the media-with the exception of Fox News- ignored Mrs Smith, they took issue with her appearance at the Cleveland convention. MSNBC's Chris Matthews, dismissed her as "that woman". You talk about a double standard.

It might also be pointed out that while Hillary voted for the Iraq war as a senator, Trump criticized the action. Maybe the Khans should direct some of their anger toward Mrs. Clinton.

In the past few days, Walid Shoebat, an apostate from Islam and Islam critic, has dug up information that allegedly connects Mr Khan with the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist/sharia sympathies. It  requires in depth reading, and at this point, I  would need further details before jumping into that.

My sympathies go out to the Khan family for losing their son. Captain Khan should be honored as one who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Trump would be well advised to let it go at that.