Summit Of Fools, Obama's Losing

Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Summit Of Fools: President Obama's White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism contributed nothing to winning the war against radical Islam. Instead, Obama and the other speakers employed rhetoric and arguments more likely to prevent us from understanding our enemy and making the hard decisions to counter it.

Even worse,  His repeated narrative that American Muslims are being unfairly treated and that they are the victims of hate is likely to inspire more radicalization here at home.

In short, the conference actually weakened us and strengthened our foes.

Obama asserts that "violent extremism" is "not unique to one group or to one geography or one period of time." But there is one group -- radical Islamists -- who at this period of time is threatening, killing and enslaving more people than any other expansive ideology.

When he claims that groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda have nothing to do with Islam, he defies the evidence plainly in front of our eyes. He makes it less likely for Muslim leaders to confront the spreading cancer. Why should they? The president says it has nothing to do with them.

The March issue of The Atlantic, a prominent mainstream magazine, features an article by Graeme Wood entitled, "What ISIS Really Wants." Wood's piece is the result of months of research and personal interviews with ISIS leaders and sympathizers around the world. Here's an excerpt of what he found about the centrality of Islam to the Islamic State:
"The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.

"Virtually every major decision and law promulgated by the Islamic State adheres to what it calls, in its press and pronouncements, and on its billboards, license plates, stationery, and coins, 'the Prophetic methodology,' which means following the prophecy and example of Muhammad, in punctilious detail. Muslims can reject the Islamic State; nearly all do. But pretending that it isn't actually a religious, millenarian group, with theology that must be understood to be combatted, has already led the United States to underestimate it and back foolish schemes to counter it."Wood interviewed Princeton scholar Bernard Haykel, the leading expert on ISIS theology. Wood writes, "In Haykel's estimation, the fighters of the Islamic State are authentic throwbacks to early Islam and are faithfully reproducing its norms of war," which Haykel says includes, "Slavery, crucifixion, and beheadings."

Needless to say, neither Wood nor Haykel were at the White House conference. If they had been, they could have dispersed the fog that kept the truth hidden. Instead, the far-left that currently controls our government spent the day talking to American Muslim leaders who want to play the victim card. Everyone agreed to continue the charade while the world burns.

Obama's Losing The Debate: If Obama's politically correct nonsense sounds idiotic to you, take heart. He is starting to lose folks on the left, too. We've told you about Bill Maher's recent comments on radical Islam. Now even some talking heads in the media are breaking ranks.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews says that we are being "morally humiliated" by Obama's weak response to ISIS.

Left-wing loud mouth Ed Schultz understands that "it's a religious war."

NBC's Chuck Todd said, "Look, it comes across as if they are trying to be so politically correct that they're losing focus on what the problem is."

And MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell dismissed the president's summit on violent extremism as "more of a dog and pony show."
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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