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Making sense of Obama’s Op-Ed

Making sense of Obama’s Op-Ed

Last updated on: February 24, 2015 at 9:10 pm by Jane the Actuary

Making sense of Obama’s Op-Ed 2015-02-24T21:10:36-06:00 Jane the Actuary

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Is Obama just stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the connection between Islamic terror groups and, well, extremism, because he doesn’t want to anger Muslims in the U.S. or in Saudi Arabia? Is he blind by his own conceptions of religion? Or is it something else?

Here’s the op-ed piece which ran in the LA Times and, presumably multiple papers elsewhere (but not in the Trib). It’s actually surprisingly slim in contents, but let’s take it apart. (And, contrary to my usual practice, I haven’t read particularly much in terms of punditry and reaction to this, so apologies if I’m repetitive.)

The United States has made significant gains against terrorism. We’ve decimated the core al Qaeda leadership, strengthened homeland security and worked to prevent another large-scale attack like 9/11.

“Decimated the core of al Qaeda leadership?” Doesn’t seem to be making much difference.

At the same time, the threat has evolved. The al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen actively plots against us. Since 9/11, terrorists have murdered U.S. citizens overseas, including in the attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Here in the United States, Americans have been killed at Ft. Hood and during the Boston Marathon.

Glad to see that Obama is recognizing that Ft. Hood was about terrorism, rather than some kind of “Pre-TSD.”

Our campaign to prevent people around the world from being radicalized to violence is ultimately a battle for hearts and minds.

In Syria and Iraq, the terrorist group we call ISIL [huh? is this an acknowledgement that ISIL isn’t the name in common use any longer] slaughtered innocent civilians and murdered hostages, including Americans, and has spread its barbarism to Libya with the murder of Egyptian Christians. [Guess they took enough heat for the “Egyptian citizens” bit as to acknowledge the true nature of the killing?] In recent months, we’ve seen deadly attacks in Ottawa, Sydney, Paris and Copenhagen.

Elsewhere, the Pakistan Taliban massacred more than 100 schoolchildren and their teachers. From Somalia, al-Shabaab has launched attacks across East Africa. In Nigeria and neighboring countries, Boko Haram kills and kidnaps men, women and children.

Gee, wonder what all these groups have in common?

In the face of this challenge, we must stand united internationally and here at home. We know that military force alone cannot solve this problem. Nor can we simply take out terrorists who kill innocent civilians. We also have to confront the violent extremists — the propagandists, recruiters and enablers — who may not directly engage in terrorist acts themselves, but who radicalize, recruit and incite others to do so.

This week, we’ll take an important step forward as governments, civil society groups and community leaders from more than 60 nations gather in Washington for a global summit on countering violent extremism. Our focus will be on empowering local communities.

“Empowering local communities”? Apparently “communities” means “mosques.”

Groups like al Qaeda and ISIL promote a twisted interpretation of religion that is rejected by the overwhelming majority of the world’s Muslims. The world must continue to lift up the voices of Muslim clerics and scholars who teach the true peaceful nature of Islam. We can echo the testimonies of former extremists who know how terrorists betray Islam. Again with the “betrayal” of the “true peaceful nature of Islam.” Mr. President, didn’t you read the article in The Atlantic that everyone’s talking about? Why can you not fathom that not every religion/religious group is inherently about peace? But his weakness in understanding religion, in general, I commented on earlier. We can help Muslim entrepreneurs and youths work with the private sector to develop social media tools to counter extremist narratives on the Internet.

We know from experience that the best way to protect people, especially young people, from falling into the grip of violent extremists is the support of their family, friends, teachers and faith leaders. At this week’s summit, community leaders from Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Boston will highlight innovative partnerships in their cities that are helping empower communities to protect their loved ones from extremist ideologies.

That’s odd. If extremism has nothing to do with religion, then why would Muslim young people be particularly at risk of it?

More broadly, groups like al Qaeda and ISIL exploit the anger that festers when people feel that injustice and corruption leave them with no chance of improving their lives. The world has to offer today’s youth something better.

Has Obama completely forgotten that the 9-11 hijackers were Saudis, with plenty of money?

Governments that deny human rights play into the hands of extremists who claim that violence is the only way to achieve change. Efforts to counter violent extremism will only succeed if citizens can address legitimate grievances through the democratic process and express themselves through strong civil societies. Those efforts must be matched by economic, educational and entrepreneurial development so people have hope for a life of dignity.

“Legitimate grievances”? This is fluff. Who, exactly, is he talking about? He he saying that young Muslims turn to “violent extermism” because they don’t have “hope for a life of dignity” and live in undemocratic societies. Where? In Minnesota? Boston? Let’s assume he’s really speaking of Muslims in France, say, and the Conventional Wisdom that they haven’t assimilated because France is Mean to Them. But, y’know, France is a democracy, too.

Finally — with al Qaeda and ISIL peddling the lie that the United States is at war with Islam — all of us have a role to play by upholding the pluralistic values that define us as Americans. This week, we’ll be joined by people of many faiths, including Muslim Americans who make extraordinary contributions to our country every day. It’s a reminder that America is successful because we welcome people of all faiths and backgrounds.

That pluralism has at times been threatened by hateful ideologies and individuals from various religions. We’ve seen tragic killings at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in 2012 and at a Jewish community center in Kansas last year.

Hmm. . . were these actions due to “legitimate grievances” too?

We do not yet know why three young people, who were Muslim Americans, were brutally killed in Chapel Hill, N.C. But we know that many Muslim Americans across our country are worried and afraid. Americans of all faiths and backgrounds must continue to stand united with a community in mourning and insist that no one should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship.

Can he at least have a little patience for the facts to come out?

Our campaign to prevent people around the world from being radicalized to violence is ultimately a battle for hearts and minds. With this week’s summit, we’ll show once more that — unlike terrorists who only offer misery and death Uh, no. They also offer the opportunity to feel you’re pursuing God’s will, and, as a bonus, get to enact every violent fantasy you’ve had, and have a sex slave, too, while you’re at it — it is our free societies and diverse communities that offer the true path to opportunity, justice and dignity.

But these people don’t want “opportunity, justice and dignity” – they want an Islamic theocracy that re-enacts the 7th century, with beheading and enslavement of your opponents.

A gathering to discuss how to counter extremism, and, in particular, the radicalization of second-generation immigrants in the West, isn’t going to go anywhere, if those so gathered can’t talk openly and honestly about true “root causes” and instead delude themselves that the only reason these young people are attracted to ISIS and others preaching an Islamic supremism, is that they don’t have sufficient economic opportunity at home.

I’ve written before on the topic and have said such things as “Islam needs a Jewish Enlightenment.” But here’s another angle: many of these kids have parents who share many of their same beliefs, that the country in which they live, whether France, or Denmark, or the U.S., is corrupt and immoral, that the rest of the world should be “sensitive” to Islam, that Jews should be kicked out of Israel, and so on. From there it doesn’t take too much to decide that Mom & Dad were cowards for not putting their beliefs into practice. But even among those who don’t, I have the impression that in Islam, being “more religious” is more likely to mean, not increasing the amount of time you spend in prayer or helping the poor, but separating yourself from mainstream American/Western society to a greater degree. Case in point: a woman who wears a headscarf is defined as “more religious” than one who doesn’t, rather than having a different set of religious practices.

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