Unfortunately, the sacking of Stephen Coughlin is not only a scandal in its own right. It is a window into a variety of actions that cry out for congressional investigations. These include:

* The true nature, agenda and sources of funding of Muslim Brotherhood front organizations like the Islamic Society of North America and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Senator Jon Kyl convened a most informative Judiciary Committee hearing on the latter several years ago; it is time for an updated and more comprehensive review of the subject.

* The judgment, if not the loyalties, of those in government who promote such organizations – especially those officials who insist that Brotherhood fronts be the “go-to” groups for Muslim outreach, to the exclusion of anti-Islamist Muslims.

* The extent of Islamist penetration of the U.S. government. Such an evaluation should examine, among other things: Muslim military chaplains recruited and credentialed by Abdurahman Alamoudi, a convicted felon now serving 23 years in federal prison for terrorism-associated crimes; Saudi-sponsored travel and indoctrination of armed forces personnel; any Islamist ties to mosques on military bases like the Marine Corps’ Quantico facility; and “sensitivity” training for FBI agents by CAIR.

* The larger, seditious political-religious-legal agenda the Islamists call Shariah and its newest, alarming manifestation: “Shariah Finance” (also doing business around the world as “Islamic banking,” “ethical finance” or “structured finance”). To his credit, a freshman representative from Georgia, Republican Paul Broun, last week convened the first Capitol Hill briefing for House members and staff concerning this deeply worrisome Trojan horse in Western capital markets, drawing on research developed by and for the Center for Security Policy.

The needed congressional investigations into Front-gate and related matters should result not only in a full airing of the Coughlin-Islam affair. They should ensure that the military is not denied in time of war the services of so able a student of our enemy, its motivations and doctrine as Major Coughlin. If anything, as part of a comprehensive effort to counter the influence operations and penetration activities of Muslim Brotherhood front organizations, patriots like Steve Coughlin should be entrusted with even greater responsibilities – by Congress, if not the executive branch.