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May 19, 2010

Our View: Call radical Islam what it is

The Free Press

— Critics of the Obama administration’s battle against terrorism love to complain that the White House doesn’t comprehend the true nature of the problem.

Impressive fodder for that argument was provided a few days ago by Attorney General Eric Holder at a House Judiciary Committee meeting when, in responding to Rep. Lamar Smith’s attempts to get Holder to admit that “radical Islam” might be responsible for at least some of the recent attempted terrorist attacks (the Fort Hood shootings, the Christmas underwear bomber and the Times Square bomber), Holder practically tied himself in knots to opine that anything but radical Islamism could have played a part.

The rather lengthy exchange was almost comical, except when you consider that Holder is the nation’s most senior lawyer responsible for prosecuting this war on terror (is it still politically acceptable to say “terror”?).

Several analysts have attempted to analyze Holder’s strange disconnect from reality. Some say he simply does not want to denigrate a great religion by admitting to its radical elements. Others say he is downplaying the radical element so as to tamp down any latent hostility that might exist out there in the American hinterlands toward Muslims. Others say that neither Holder nor Obama has the heart for this war on terrorism, so the easiest way to ignore it is to pretend it doesn’t exist.

None of those theories appear to hit the mark. Let’s make one thing clear — this White House certainly does comprehend that radical Islamism (i.e.: extreme elements of the Muslim faith) does exist. That this administration is actively attempting to protect America from it, while prosecuting those who act out their destructive tendencies, has been repeatedly shown.

So why, then, if it is the policy of this administration to combat this form of terrorism on the one hand, does the attorney general, on the other hand, become so unwilling in public to even call it what it is? Obviously these terrorists have been radicalized. And it’s clear that a certain portion of them attribute their inspiration to religion.

Certainly Holder doesn’t believe that by pretending it away, our radicalist enemies will be satisfied and change their course. Does he? And certainly, he doesn’t believe that by behaving in this manner he can instill confidence in the American public — which knows full well what’s out there lurking in the shadows — that our White House has the situation firmly under control. The public obfuscation that Holder has just demonstrated can only confuse and frustrate the American people, as well as those charged with carrying the fight against terror plots.

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