Missile agency's 'crescent moon' logo scares right-wingers

The conservative blogosphere is abuzz about the new logo of the US Missile Defense Agency, which they say looks suspiciously similar to both the Obama campaign logo and the crescent moon typically seen on Islamic flags.

On Wednesday, the Drudge Report posted a picture of the agency's new logo -- a blue crescent with a wave of red stripes emerging from it -- above pictures of the Obama campaign logo and a crescent moon and star, a typical theme on flags of Islamic nations.

But the particular crescent moon chosen by Drudge appears not to be part of any flag, but rather the symbol of the Nation of Islam.

"New Missile Defense Agency Logo Causes Online Commotion," reads the Drudge headline, though it links only to the home page of the Missile Defense Agency. Another headline below links to the Wikipedia page on Islamic flags, which does not feature the crescent "flag" Drudge used.

Blogger Frank Gaffney, writing at BigGovernment.com, a Web site run by Drudge ally Andrew Breitbart, says the new logo may be a sign that the Obama administration has "nefarious" plans for US defense.

"The Obama administration’s determined effort to reduce America’s missile defense capabilities initially seemed to be just standard Leftist fare," Gaffney writes, but the new agency logo "suggests, however, that something even more nefarious is afoot."

Gaffney writes that the logo suggests Obama may be planning to take a soft stance on Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program.

"Team Obama is behaving in a way that — as the new MDA logo suggests — is all about accommodating that 'Islamic Republic' and its ever-more aggressive stance," he writes.

But progressive bloggers are having a laugh at the whole thing. "Is Matt Drudge High?" asks the title of a blog posting by Halfrican at DailyKos.

"There is no doubt that the similarities are there, but is that really enough reason for us to go searching for hidden meanings?" asks Liza Mock at Gather.com. "After all, one could argue (and I mean no offense to Trekkies) that the Missile Defense logo also vaguely resembles that of Star Trek."

Mock notes that the logos "use the colors red, white and blue, which represent America. This is also done by Pepsi."

CBS reports that Twitter is buzzing with the debate as well. "Drudge is hinting the new Missile Defense Agency logo resembles an Islamic flag's star & crescent. SECRET OBAMA AGENDA!" mocks Twitterer "Zeus."

This is not the first time that the use of a crescent moon in a logo has brought protests from some corners. In 2008, families of some 9/11 victims objected to the shape of the Flight 93 memorial being built in Pennsylvania. They said it takes "the shape of an Islamic crescent and points directly towards Mecca."

During the 2008 presidential campaign, some observers argued that the Obama logo resembled the crescent seen in Islamic flags.