Obama Still Won't Connect The Dots

In keeping with his protection mode of Islam, President Obama yesterday spoke about his summit on countering "violent extremism" by denying that ISIS, Al Qaeda and other Muslim extremist groups are actually Muslim. It's not the first time and it won't be the last. But it is the major thing that prevents Obama from being an effective leader against those threats.

He started out by praising American resilience, citing our recovery from the Civil War, natural disasters, 9/11... all true and indicative of the American spirit. The problem with his references is that they all happened when America had a true leader in the White House instead of the Jimmy Carter clone that we have now.

He then cited a few examples of more recent acts by "violent extremists" in the United States.

"The bombing that killed 168 people could not break Oklahoma City. On 9/11, terrorists tried to bring us to our knees; today a new tower soars above New York City, and America continues to lead throughout the world. After Americans were killed at Fort Hood and the Boston Marathon, it didn’t divide us; we came together as one American family.

In the face of horrific acts of violence -- at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee, or at a Jewish community center outside Kansas City -- we reaffirmed our commitment to pluralism and to freedom, repulsed by the notion that anyone should ever be targeted because of who they are, or what they look like, or how they worship.

Most recently, with the brutal murders in Chapel Hill of three young Muslim Americans, many Muslim Americans are worried and afraid. And I want to be as clear as I can be: As Americans, all faiths and backgrounds, we stand with you in your grief and we offer our love and we offer our support."

The most important thing he left out of that particular narrative is that with the exception of one, all of those incidents were carried out by Muslim extremists. 

He went on:

"We’ve always faced challenges. One of those challenges is the terrorist threat from groups like al Qaeda and ISIL. But this isn’t our challenge alone. It’s a challenge for the world. ISIL is terrorizing the people of Syria and Iraq, beheads and burns human beings in unfathomable acts of cruelty. We’ve seen deadly attacks in Ottawa and Sydney and, Paris, and now Copenhagen."

Again there is a common denominator that Obama will not acknowledge - and that is Islam.

He attempted to explain it:

"By 'violent extremism,' we don’t just mean the terrorists who are killing innocent people. We also mean the ideologies, the infrastructure of extremists --the propagandists, the recruiters, the funders who radicalize and recruit or incite people to violence. We all know there is no one profile of a violent extremist or terrorist, so there’s no way to predict who will become radicalized. Around the world, and here in the United States, inexcusable acts of violence have been committed against people of different faiths, by people of different faiths -- which is, of course, a betrayal of all our faiths. It’s not unique to one group, or to one geography, or one period of time."

But Mr. President -who commits 99.9% of the world's terrorist acts? Again, that would be Muslims - those who use the Quran to justify their violence. Just because you say "they are not Islamic" doesn't mean they take your word for it. You won't acknowledge that some victims are Christians either. I call it willful ignorance.

"First, we have to confront squarely and honestly the twisted ideologies that these terrorist groups use to incite people to violence."

Agreed. But you refuse to do that. And you cannot defeat an enemy you won't properly identify.

"Al Qaeda and ISIL and groups like it are desperate for legitimacy. They try to portray themselves as religious leaders -- holy warriors in defense of Islam. That’s why ISIL presumes to declare itself the “Islamic State.” And they propagate the notion that America -- and the West, generally -- is at war with Islam. That’s how they recruit. That’s how they try to radicalize young people. We must never accept the premise that they put forward, because it is a lie. Nor should we grant these terrorists the religious legitimacy that they seek. They are not religious leaders -- they’re terrorists. And we are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam."

Correction. We are at war with people who worship Allah and use Mohammed's writings to justify their violence. That makes them Muslims.

"Of course, the terrorists do not speak for over a billion Muslims who reject their hateful ideology. They no more represent Islam than any madman who kills innocents in the name of God represents Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism or Hinduism. No religion is responsible for terrorism. People are responsible for violence and terrorism."

That is only partially true. First of all, the "billion Muslims who reject their hateful ideology" do so in silence. Silence in the face of extremism is a form of tolerance. Polls of Muslims around the world show that a majority of them believe the violence is acceptable and welcome. As with many other thing you say, because you say the majority reject the violence doesn't make it so.

"And to their credit, there are respected Muslim clerics and scholars not just here in the United States but around the world who push back on this twisted interpretation of their faith."

Really? How many? Five? Six?

"The reality -- which, again, many Muslim leaders have spoken to -- is that there’s a strain of thought that doesn’t embrace ISIL’s tactics, doesn’t embrace violence, but does buy into the notion that the Muslim world has suffered historical grievances -- sometimes that’s accurate -- does buy into the belief that so many of the ills in the Middle East flow from a history of colonialism or conspiracy; does buy into the idea that Islam is incompatible with modernity or tolerance, or that it’s been polluted by Western values."

Personally, I am convinced that is what you believe, Mr. President. I believe you are caught up in the teachings of Islam (your Crusades comments pretty much proved that since you only gave half truths) and that you care more about protecting Islam than protecting the nation you were elected to lead. I wonder, if you allow ISIS to become a world power and they become a direct and immediate threat to us, where will you and your family live? They would kill you as quickly as they would kill me. Do you get that?

"Everybody has to speak up very clearly that no matter what the grievance, violence against innocents doesn’t defend Islam or Muslims, it damages Islam and Muslims."

You know - that's all well and good if you can get them to believe it. But I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. So you may not be at war with radical Islam but they are at war with you. 

The President went on to contradict himself, saying that poverty and lack of education contribute to people becoming violent extremists. Then he said "Conversely, there are terrorists who’ve come from extraordinarily wealthy backgrounds, like Osama bin Laden."

Gee - know what else there are in the world, Mr. President? There are real leaders of other nations who don't negotiate with terrorists and give back their commanders is ridiculous appeasement gestures!

He went on to talk about growing the economies of terrorism susceptible countries and giving the citizens meaningful employment that could prevent young people from joining terrorist organizations. But since most of us know that Islamic terrorism is an ideology and not something people join simply because they're bored or just need a job, that entire line of thinking is just plain stupid. 

He goes on and on to the point of nauseating boredom so I will close with this. The King of Jordon knows the threat that is ISIS and he is taking strong action against it. The President of Egypt knows the threat that is ISIS and he is taking strong action against it. President Obama acts like ISIS is just a bunch of neighborhood kids who got bored and formed a gang. He isn't taking the U.S. response to ISIS seriously (as of yet, anyway) and he is once again leading from behind - getting the other countries to take action while sitting back and mostly watching. Then, when a nation takes action without asking his permission he criticizes them as if they did something wrong. 

I can't help but shake my head in disgust and wonder. I imagine the Egyptian President feels the same way.