Critics: U.S. too low-key on Islamic radicalism

[unhappycamper]

Critics: U.S. too low-key on Islamic radicalism
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 12, 2010 12:56:57 EDT

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s recent move to drop rhetorical references to Islamic radicalism is drawing fire in a report warning the decision ignores the role religion can play in motivating terrorists.

Several prominent counterterrorism experts are challenging the administration’s shift in its recently unveiled National Security Strategy, saying the terror threat should be defined in order to fight it.

The question of how to frame the conflict against al-Qaida and other terrorists poses a knotty problem. The U.S. is trying to mend fences with Muslim communities while toughening strikes against militant groups.

In the report, scheduled to be released this week, counterterrorism experts from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy argue that the U.S. could clearly articulate the threat from radical Islamic extremists “without denigrating the Islamic religion in any way.”

President Obama has argued that words matter, and administration officials have said that the use of inflammatory descriptions linking Islam to the terrorist threat feed the enemy’s propaganda and may alienate moderate Muslims in the U.S.



unhappycamper comment: 'Frame' the problem? You fuckers are already sucking the life out of America with these ever continuing occupations..

[burnsei sensei]

1. Muslims know the difference between

their religion and terrorist justifications.
Radical Islamists act in the name of Islam.
That does not mean that the most Muslims support what they do.
There are many who despise what they do.
One can say Islamist terrorist without saying Muslim.
Toadies and sycophants ingratiate themselves by changing their language to suit the occasion.
If we had any coherency in perception and policy, words would not matter as much.
It's about time we did the right things-- getting out of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq would be a start.
Normalizing relations with extended commitments to Iran and Syria.
Understanding the difference between a modern nation-state and a medieval principality.
The bad faith from Washington continues.