Friday, January 16, 2015
Terrorist attacks: "It's not Islam!"
So says Whitehouse Press Secretary Josh Earnest:
Q And will you speak about the battle against Islamist extremism?
MR. EARNEST: Well, all forms of violent extremism would certainly be discussed in the context of this summit. But obviously the threat that we see from violent extremism in which individuals invoke the name of Islam, an otherwise peaceful religion, as they carry out these attacks would certainly be obviously a priority in the discussion here.
Ed.
Q Josh, why wouldn’t you use the phrase right there, that we are going to take on Islamist extremism? You said all forms of violent extremism.
MR. EARNEST: She asked me what the summit would discuss, and all forms of violent extremism would be discussed, and obviously the most potent and certainly the most graphic display that we’ve seen in recent days is, again, motivated by those individuals that seek to invoke the name of Islam to carry out these violent attacks. And that’s certainly something that we want to work very hard to counter and mitigate, and we’ve got a strategy that we’ve been discussing for some time to exactly do that.
Q So if it’s the most potent form, according to you, of extremism, why isn’t the summit on countering Islamic extremism?
MR. EARNEST: Because violent extremism is something that we want to be focused on, and it’s not just Islamic violent extremism that we want to counter; there are other forms of --
Q The recent cases in Paris, Australia, Canada -- isn’t the thread through them that it’s Islamic extremism?
MR. EARNEST: Well, certainly the examples that you cite are examples of individuals who have cited Islam as they’ve carried out acts of violence. There’s no arguing that.
Attorney General Eric Holder agrees:
I certainly think we are at war with those who would commit terrorist attacks and corrupt the Islamic faith to try to justify their terrorist actions.
For many on the left, refusal to recognize that Islam itself is the problem likely stems from political correctness and the extreme cognitive dissonance they must be feeling. But that can't explain the carefully constructed positions and language taken by the Obama administration. This is not mere confusion or stupidity, but something calculated. I cannot say what (because I am uncertain) but it is sinister and dangerous.
Q And will you speak about the battle against Islamist extremism?
MR. EARNEST: Well, all forms of violent extremism would certainly be discussed in the context of this summit. But obviously the threat that we see from violent extremism in which individuals invoke the name of Islam, an otherwise peaceful religion, as they carry out these attacks would certainly be obviously a priority in the discussion here.
Ed.
Q Josh, why wouldn’t you use the phrase right there, that we are going to take on Islamist extremism? You said all forms of violent extremism.
MR. EARNEST: She asked me what the summit would discuss, and all forms of violent extremism would be discussed, and obviously the most potent and certainly the most graphic display that we’ve seen in recent days is, again, motivated by those individuals that seek to invoke the name of Islam to carry out these violent attacks. And that’s certainly something that we want to work very hard to counter and mitigate, and we’ve got a strategy that we’ve been discussing for some time to exactly do that.
Q So if it’s the most potent form, according to you, of extremism, why isn’t the summit on countering Islamic extremism?
MR. EARNEST: Because violent extremism is something that we want to be focused on, and it’s not just Islamic violent extremism that we want to counter; there are other forms of --
Q The recent cases in Paris, Australia, Canada -- isn’t the thread through them that it’s Islamic extremism?
MR. EARNEST: Well, certainly the examples that you cite are examples of individuals who have cited Islam as they’ve carried out acts of violence. There’s no arguing that.
Attorney General Eric Holder agrees:
I certainly think we are at war with those who would commit terrorist attacks and corrupt the Islamic faith to try to justify their terrorist actions.
For many on the left, refusal to recognize that Islam itself is the problem likely stems from political correctness and the extreme cognitive dissonance they must be feeling. But that can't explain the carefully constructed positions and language taken by the Obama administration. This is not mere confusion or stupidity, but something calculated. I cannot say what (because I am uncertain) but it is sinister and dangerous.
