The Battle Within Islam and President Obama

 "Many American Muslims don't think CAIR represents them, and that the CAIR approach further alienates and divides Americans of all faiths. These are the "silent majority" among American Muslims."

Colonel (Ret.) Derek Harvey

"President Obama needs to accept that our current conflict is as much against the idea of radical jihadism as it is against the physical presence of ISIS. Furthermore, by failing to define the religious-political ideology underpinning the enemy, the president contributes to an environment where all Muslims are increasingly looked at with suspicion. And when President Obama says that we are not at war with Islam, he is implicitly acknowledging to the public that Islam does have something to with extremism, disorder, and violence.

"President Obama has also inadvertently cast a blanket of suspicion on the Muslim community through his rhetoric and framing of the challenge. Wouldn't it be better if instead the president and the Administration defined the real enemy – a narrow band of radical extremists? . . . 

"Many Muslim reformers in this country would like the Obama Administration's support in their efforts to frame the problem for what it is – radical Sunni extremism - so that they can face the issue of tolerance and reform within the faith. " . . .

Colonel (Ret.) Derek Harvey is a Middle East specialist, Islamic scholar, and terrorism expert. He served as an advisor to multiple U.S. Commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Stephen F. Hayes: GOP Debaters Left Obama's Awful Record on National Security Largely Untouched

Podcast here; This podcast can be downloaded here.

It's Time For The Other 13 Candidates To Drop Out

Tunnel Dweller does not endorse Ms. Coulter's main point here, but does agree that we must all come to terms with her logic expressed herein.

Ann Coulter

. . . "After the San Bernardino terrorist attack, committed by Muslim immigrants -- which followed the 1993 World Trade Center terrorist attack committed by Muslim immigrants; the 9/11 terrorist attacks committed by Muslim immigrants; the Fort Hood terrorist attack committed by a Muslim immigrant; the Boston Marathon terrorist attack committed by Muslim immigrants, and on and on -- Trump suggested a temporary pause on Muslim immigration. 

"The other candidates responded by attacking him viciously. Now, the eunuchs are duking it out over who has the most aggressive approach to ... fighting ISIS! 

"Asked why he called Trump's proposal "unhinged," Jeb! explained: "Well, first of all, we need to destroy ISIS in the caliphate."

"Marco Rubio said: "The problem is we had an attack in San Bernardino," adding that "what's important to do is we must deal frontally with this threat of radical Islamists, especially from ISIS." . . . 

Comments on the Dec 15th GOP Debate

From Bookworm Room  . . . "The article boils the foreign policy issue (which the Constitution gives to the president) down to two world views: The Wilson world view is that we have to intervene all over the world to make it a better place, and that it’s shameful to win wars; instead we have to make peace.  The Jackson view is that we shouldn’t fight a war that doesn’t directly benefit us, but when we fight, we fight to win. Wilsonians would say a safer world indirectly benefits us, making intervention wars worthwhile. Jacksonians would say that too many of our wars have not only failed to give us any benefit, they’ve been very bad for us, especially because — as Obama exemplifies — we shouldn’t win." . . .

Lucianne is an excellent source for material such as these:

GOP December 2015 Debate: Another View  "The debate was much stronger for everyone -- except perhaps for Trump.
"The CNN moderators did not become the story, so that’s positive.
"The main story line is that they attacked each other appropriately, I believe, but they always brought the discussion back to Obama-Hillary. This circle back to the Dems was smart, very smart." . . .

Tuesday’s GOP debate was Jeb Bush’s last stand, and he failed   . . . "At this point then, barring an even unlikelier miracle in next month’s GOP debate, the last before the Iowa caucuses, Bush has no way of turning around his fortunes. Sure, one would think Bush could use his money advantage to move his numbers by flooding Iowa and New Hampshire airwaves with ads. But his campaign has already tried that, “racing through its massive war chest” with nothing to show for it." . . .

Consider the source on this: CNN: Was Marco Rubio Overrated All Along?  . . . "That was a rough debate for Marco Rubio. He finally got that long-awaited challenge on his previous support for the “Gang of Eight” immigration-law overhaul, which he handled well enough. But any way you look at it, this puts him to the left of the field on the major animating issue of the campaign. He continually took fire from a surging Ted Cruz and a feisty Rand Paul. He spent much of the night on the defensive." . . .

The Daily 202: Anger won and Rubio lost last night’s debate   “ 'Like all of you, I’m angry” is how Carly Fiorina began her opening statement. That sentence encapsulates not just last night’s two-hour debate in Las Vegas but also the entire Republican nominating contest thus far. Donald Trump himself was largely a non-factor in the candidates’ fifth and final showdown of 2015, but Trumpism was the dominant, animating force inside the Venetian Theatre." . . .

Fifth Debate Quietly Winnows The Field

. . . "Not surprisingly, Trump arguably made the biggest news of the night: Finally shutting down speculation that he might run as a third-party candidate should he not win the nomination in Cleveland, a rogue step that would basically doom Republican White House hopes." . . .

In Las Vegas Debate, a Rubio-Cruz Showdown Takes Center Stage   . . . "Tuesday may have foreshadowed a Rubio-Cruz battle for the nomination that more and more Republicans are now predicting, as Cruz continues to consolidate the support of conservative voters and Rubio emerges as the favorite of center-right, establishment-oriented voters. " . . .

A Serious Debate for a Country at a Moment of Serious Crisis   "First, as lengthy as tonight’s debate on CNN was, about two-thirds of the nine GOP candidates on stage turned in solid performances and demonstrated real knowledge and critical analysis of serious crises: how to monitor potential terrorist communications, how to handle Syrian refugees, what to do about Syria’s bloody civil war, when the U.S. should stand with dictators, how to handle Putin, and so on." . . .

The threat grew worse in part because the Obama administration didn’t want to see the threat, didn’t want to acknowledge the threat was growing, didn’t want to admit its policies weren’t working, and didn’t want to break its politically-correct worldview. 

Administration nixed probe into Southern California jihadists

http://terrellaftermath.com/

The Hill  . . . "In retaliation, DHS and the Department of Justice subjected me to a series of investigations and adverse actions, including one by that same Inspector General. None of them showed any wrongdoing; they seemed aimed at stopping me from blowing the whistle on this problem. Earlier this year, I was finally able to honorably retire from government and I’m now taking my story to the American people as a warning.

"My law enforcement colleagues and I must conduct our work while respecting the rights of those we monitor.  But what I witnessed suggests the Obama administration is more concerned with the rights of non-citizens in known Islamist groups than with the safety and security of the American people.

"That must change. "

By Philip Haney, a recently retired DHS employee. As can be said about the military officers in the later post.

U.S. has mapped ISIS hiding spots, but won’t launch strikes for fear of civilian deaths
. . . "Most of the locations are embedded in heavily residential areas in Syria, Iraq and Libya and are not being targeted by U.S. airstrikes because of Obama administration concerns about civilian casualties, according to sources who spoke to The Washington Times only on the condition of anonymity." . . .