In Defense of Internment

Infobox Book
name = In Defense of Internment


image_caption = Book cover
author = Michelle Malkin
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
subject = Racial profiling in law enforcement--United States--Case studies.
Law enforcement--United States--Case studies.
Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945.
War on Terrorism, 2001-
genre =
publisher = Regnery Publishing
release_date = 2004
media_type =
pages = 376
isbn = ISBN 0-89526-051-4
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"In Defense of Internment: The Case for 'Racial Profiling' in World War II and the War on Terror" (ISBN 0-89526-051-4) is a 2004 book written by American conservative columnist, blogger, and political commentator Michelle Malkin.

In the book Malkin, in light of the circumstances during World War II, discusses and provides defenses to the decision by the United States government for the internment of Japanese Americans in relocation camps.

The book has raised a great deal of controversy and has been condemned strongly by various civil rights proponents and organizations, as well as academic historians. In particular, Japanese American groups have been critical of the book.

Writing of the book

On her website, Malkin wrote: [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060206033611/http://michellemalkin.com/aboutidoi.htm michellemalkin.com] , page date 6 Feb 2006, retrieved from archive.org's Wayback Machine]

I was compelled to write this book after watching ethnic activists, historians, and politicians repeatedly play the World War II internment card after the September 11 attacks. The Bush Administration’s critics have equated every reasonable measure to interrogate, track, detain, and deport potential terrorists with the "racist" and "unjustified” World War II internment policies of President Roosevelt. To make amends for this "shameful blot" on our history, both Japanese-American and Arab/Muslim-American activists argue against any and all uses of race, ethnicity, nationality, and religion in shaping current homeland security policies. Misguided guilt about the past continues to hamper our ability to prevent future terrorist attacks.

Response to "In Defense of Internment"

The book proved to be highly controversial when published, with Asian-American groups in particular being highly critical. John Tateishi, the Executive Director of the Japanese American Citizens League issued a media release on August 24, 2004 stating "Michelle Malkin's book "In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror" is a desperate attempt to impugn the loyalty of Japanese Americans during World War II to justify harsher governmental policies today in the treatment of Arab and Muslim Americans."

The organization "Historians' Committee for Fairness" condemned the book as "a blatant violation of professional standards of objectivity and fairness". [cite web|url=http://hnn.us/articles/7092.html|title=Why the Media Should Stop Paying Attention to the New Book that Defends Japanese Internment|publisher=Greg Robinson|date=|accessdate=06 July|accessyear=2008]

There was considerable media interest in the book especially on the West Coast of the U.S. and Hawaii where the impact of internment in World War II was greatest. As a result of the interest in the book, it made the "New York Times" Best Seller list in September 2004.

Alex Jones Confrontation

On August 25th, 2008, Alex Jones confronted Malkin [ [http://www.justin.tv/alexjonesinfowars/212746/MIchelle_Malkin_Confrontation_by_Alex_Jon Video of Alex Jones confronting Malkin] ] outside of the Democratic National Convention on her controversial beliefs expressed in this book.

ee also

*Japanese American internment
*Italian American internment
*Attack on Pearl Harbor
*Executive Order 9066
*September 11, 2001 attacks
*Racial profiling
*Niihau Incident
*Fifth column

References

External links

* [http://michellemalkin.com/books.htm In Defense of Internment Web Site]
* [http://www.isthatlegal.org/Muller_and_Robinson_on_Malkin.html Muller and Robinson on Malkin: Two Professors Respond to "In Defense of Internment"]
* [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14587 "The Turncoats on Niihau Island", Complete Chapter 1 of "In Defense of Internment"]
* [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/040927/27john.htm "The Internment Taboo", review by John Leo]
* [http://www.modelminority.com/article872.html "The New Revisionism: Michelle Malkin’s Legitimisation of American Racialism", review from Model Minority]
* [http://mediamatters.org/items/200408110001 "Michelle Malkin defended WWII internment, racial profiling today", review from Media Matters]
* [http://michellemalkin.com/archives/000450.htm Michelle Malkin Book Buzz page including statement from John Tateishi and claim of bestseller status]