The murder of forty-nine Americans in Orlando at the hands of a home grown, radical Islamic terrorist is the logical consequence of a President who refuses to use all means necessary to eradicate radical Islamic terrorists overseas. This President not only refuses to rally the nation, seek a declaration of war, and do what is militarily required to destroy those intent on taking American lives, he shows empathy for the plight of terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay, seeing fit to effectively bolster their ranks and cause by releasing even the most hardened and dedicated al Qaeda enemy combatants from that facility. He has entered into a deal with our most ardent foe, Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism, whereby he has filled that nation’s treasury with hundreds of billions of dollars, has enabled the country to exercise hegemony over Iraq and Syria, and has virtually ensured it will obtain a nuclear arsenal.
Obama is a pacifist at a time when the nation requires a commander-in-chief at war and total war against those who will otherwise continue to kill ever more Americans. Like Neville Chamberlain, Obama lives in a dream world of peace despite the presence of war. He refuses to put the nation on a war footing by seeking a declaration of war from Congress against radical Islamic terrorists, preferring instead to regard the cowardly attacks of those terrorists on civilians as the equivalent of domestic organized crime, warranting a local police response.
The failure of President Obama to assume the full mantle of commander-in-chief in the face of acts of radical Islamic terrorism against the United States and its allies bodes ill for the lives of Americans at home and abroad. Indeed, Obama’s essentially defensive posture maximizes the likelihood that there will be far more terrorist attacks within the United States.
Obama refuses to secure our borders. He refuses to devote full military power to a relentless campaign of extermination of terrorists around the globe. He refuses to destroy all means of communication used by terrorists. He refuses to cut off all supplies and finances directed to radical Islamists. He refuses to destroy all ISIS training camps and weapons factories. His incoherent foreign policy is suicidal for our nation.
Defensive warfare is not easily won against a persistent enemy comprised of religious zealots willing to die along with their victims. The Japanese in World War II responded to the calls of their Emperor and fought with comparable suicidal zeal against the Allied powers. Were the United States to have assumed a largely defensive posture then, the war in the Pacific would not have been won as promptly or decisively. Instead, Harry Truman did what Obama would never do to save countless American lives. He ended the conflict decisively with the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truman was right, and Obama is hopelessly wrong. It is likely that we can eliminate radical Islamic terrorism with overpowering conventional force but Obama has no stomach, no courage, and no respect for America sufficient to engage the enemy and win.
In the first instance, this President will not even mention the word radical Islam, let alone declare war on radical Islamic terrorists. A declaration of war is essential to rally the nation, explain the perverse ideology of our foe, and commit America’s military to a relentless battle to ferret out and exterminate every last vestige of radical Islamic terror along with all of those who provide terrorists aid and comfort.
Indeed, rather than define who the enemy is and urge Americans to notify authorities of people who have become radicalized and have taken steps to effectuate acts of terror, this President insists upon political correctness, turning a blind eye to mosques and mullahs who solicit terror, demanding that we ignore the very foundation of Islamic radicalism. Instead, Americans should be educated about the perverse doctrined of radical Islam, should come to understand why it is a dangerous fraud, and should be on the alert for those radicalized in our midst, encouraged to report evidence of terror rather than shy away from reporting for fear of being condemned as Islamophobic.
In the second instance, Obama wages a limited, defensive war, comprised principally of air strikes and limited interventions, which are failing to stop the growth of radical Islamic terror in countries outside of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. By failing to engage in a relentless, all-out war against terrorists around the globe, whereby we annihilate our foe, President Obama ensures their survival and thereby increases the likelihood that those not eradicated outside of the United States will, in ever increasing numbers, slip through our porous borders and commit acts of terror here or induce domestic recruits to become active.
In the third instance, Obama fails to take out the command, control and communication of radical Islamists, allowing them to use media of mass communication, especially the internet, to solicit recruits from within the United States and Europe. We can and should destroy their means of communication through interdiction over the web and via destruction of cell towers, jamming of signals, and electromagnetic pulse warfare. In a war that depends on media of mass communication for conversion, we must destroy their means to reach and influence potential converts.
In the fourth instance, Obama is dedicated to reducing the size and scope of America’s military at the precise time when we need to be increasing it, especially by increasing the number, training, and equipping of America’s special operations forces. This administration learned nothing at all from Benghazi. We lost brave Americans due in no small measure to the unwillingness of this Administration to devote the resources necessary to ensure that no American in the service of his country is abandoned in the face of an enemy attack.
Rather, the Administration through Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lied to the American people, telling us the false narrative of the anti-Islamic film and spontaneous uprising, rather than the truth of a terror attack. She then disgraced the families of the fallen by lying to them in person and refusing to apologize even when the evidence confirmed her falsehoods.
For those who appreciate the dire consequences that will befall America unless the Obama/Clinton legacy of appeasement; limited, defensive warfare; and the enabling of our enemies is rapidly ended, the choice of a next president is a simple one. Donald Trump has advocated a declaration of war against radical Islamic terrorists, has demanded that our military command be given the resources and freedom to wage war relentlessly against radical Islamists, and has called for a major rebuilding of the American military. That prescription for success is not one of several workable options, it is the only option available this election cycle for those serious about ending radical Islamic terrorism.
© 2016 Jonathan W. Emord – All Rights Reserved
