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President Obama identifies the enemy as “extremism” of an undefined nature, as opposed to Islamic terror. According to the American president, who exactly is the enemy?
US President Barack Obama believes that the world must do far more than fighting terrorists to conquer Islamic terrorism, and that a military approach will not provide a comprehensive solution to the threat.
Speaking at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism on Wednesday, Obama stressed that the US is not at war with Islam, contending, “We are at war with people who have perverted Islam.” “They are not religious leaders; they are terrorists,” Obama reiterated.
The summit brought together dozens of local-level law enforcement groups, community leaders and academics as well as representatives from 60 countries to examine the growing threat of world-wide terror.
Obama called on Muslims to denounce the acts of violence that have been perpetrated in the name of Islam. All have a duty to “speak up very clearly” in opposition to violence against innocent people, he said. “Just as leaders like myself reject the notion that terrorists like ISIL (the Islamic State, ISIS) genuinely represent Islam, Muslim leaders need to do more to discredit the notion that our nations are determined to suppress Islam,” Obama said.
Obama’s advice notwithstanding, Muslims voicing dissent against the atrocities committed in the name of Islam remain rare. In fact, some scholars believe that ISIS is adhering to the teachings of the Quran in its literal sense, and in that aspect they are the true Muslims.
Obama called for Muslims to be embraced. “If we’re going to prevent people from being susceptible to the false promises of extremism, then the international community has to offer something better – and the United States intends to do its part,” AP quotes Obama as saying. “That’s the story extremists and terrorists don’t want the world to know: Muslims succeeding and thriving in America.”
Fighting Terror with Jobs?
Obama appears to be referring to the notion that if the world creates other avenues through which potential terrorists can prosper, they will choose these options over terrorism.
That idea was clearly expressed by State Department Spokeswoman Marie Harf who stated during a Monday interview with MSNBC that if the terrorists had jobs they would not be involved in terrorism, apparently ignoring the existence of an ideological component driving their actions.
“We’re killing a lot of them, and we’re going to keep killing more of them,” she stated on MSNBC‘s Hardball. “But we cannot win this war by killing them. We need…to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it’s [a] lack of opportunity for jobs,” at which Harf was interrupted by host Chris Matthews, who pointed out, “There’s always going to be poor people. There’s always going to be poor Muslims.”
Harf continued to argue that the US should work with other countries to “help improve their governance” and “help them build their economies so they can have job opportunities for these people.”
According to Harf, “If we can help countries work at the root causes of this — what makes these 17-year-old kids pick up an AK-47 instead of trying to start a business?”
For weeks Obama has been criticized for not explicitly labeling the problem “Islamic” extremism, relying on the phrase “violent extremism” and completely ignoring the Islamic religious drive.
Obama himself said during an interview that the four Jews intentionally murdered by a Muslim terrorist at the kosher Hyper Cacher market in Paris in January were “a bunch of folks” who were “randomly” shot, refusing to say that the terrorist was a Muslim who targeted Jews.
His spokespersons later had a difficult time explaining his meaning.
“They won’t even call the threat what it is. How can you talk about defeating an enemy you cannot name?” said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican.
By: United with Israel Staff
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