It started out well (transcript via Time)
My fellow Americans, tonight I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL.
Then it degenerated in paragraph two
As Commander-in-Chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people. Over the last several years, we have consistently taken the fight to terrorists who threaten our country. We took out Osama bin Laden and much of al Qaeda’s leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We’ve targeted al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, and recently eliminated the top commander of its affiliate in Somalia. We’ve done so while bringing more than 140,000 American troops home from Iraq, and drawing down our forces in Afghanistan, where our combat mission will end later this year. Thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, America is safer.
That was all about chest thumping by Obama. Sounded like a campaign speech
Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat. We can’t erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today. And that’s why we must remain vigilant as threats emerge. At this moment, the greatest threats come from the Middle East and North Africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those groups is ISIL — which calls itself the “Islamic State.â€
OK, not bad. Then we immediately move into unbelievable stupidity
Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not “Islamic.†No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state. It was formerly al Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq, and has taken advantage of sectarian strife and Syria’s civil war to gain territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border. It is recognized by no government, nor by the people it subjugates. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.
Alas, PBO, they are Muslims, and are following Muslim religious tenets as laid out in the Koran, per their reading of it. And ISIS/ISIL is attempting to create an Islamic caliphate.
Then there was some “meh, could have given a quick daytime speech” stuff, followed by leading from behind, we’re not in it alone, some shaking fist at that non-Islamic Islamic State stuff, followed by his supposed plan, which I guess was better than nothing. And then it goes off the rails
Our technology companies and universities are unmatched. Our manufacturing and auto industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than it’s been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history. Despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American people every single day –- and that makes me more confident than ever about our country’s future.
Abroad, American leadership is the one constant in an uncertain world. It is America that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists. It is America that has rallied the world against Russian aggression, and in support of the Ukrainian peoples’ right to determine their own destiny. It is America –- our scientists, our doctors, our know-how –- that can help contain and cure the outbreak of Ebola. It is America that helped remove and destroy Syria’s declared chemical weapons so that they can’t pose a threat to the Syrian people or the world again. And it is America that is helping Muslim communities around the world not just in the fight against terrorism, but in the fight for opportunity, and tolerance, and a more hopeful future.
https://twitter.com/WilliamTeach/status/509872283587211265
More at Twitchy.
One thing I want to make clear: for the most part, I approve of Obama’s actions regarding the War On Terrorism. His words do not always match his actions, sadly, but his actions, such as drone striking the hell out of Jihadis, special opps groups, etc, around the Middle East and Northern Africa, as well as in Afghanistan, have been strong. I wish his speech had been.
*SCOAMF: Stuttering Clusterf*ck Of A Miserable Failure
Crossed at Right Wing News.
[…] is on the rise, building a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, while the Commander in Chief says they aren’t “Islamic” and we aren’t at war, even though we’re dropping bombs and sending in more […]
How could you sit and watch this creep? You must have a stomach made of iron. But several points have been made that the left would not allow before. Suddenly, ISIS is the extension of al Qaeda in Iraq. What?? I thought that the left said that terrorism did not exist in Iraq, so when did they acknowledge it? Then I have seen several news reports about ISIS having taken over biologics and poison gas stored by Saddam. So, now we are acknowledging that there were weapons of mass destruction in the country. It seems that the left is having to back track.
You know Teach, this is a tricky area for me.
I am not trying to defend ISIS / ISIL or the President, but just because someone labels themselves something does not mean they are that something.
For example on the other side of the coin, there are those associated with the “Christian Identity” movement which is include white supremacy teachings and beliefs which is against the tenants of true Christianity and the Bible.
So the question is “are they ‘Christians’ because they follow their reading and understanding of the Bible?”
I would argue they are not because their from reading and interpretation of the Bible, they don’t represent or act upon the core tenants of Christianity.
I have gone to school and worked with Muslims and find that their brand of Islam is much different than the radical Islam we see in the world and about which we are rightfully concerned. The people I have known are kind hearted, family oriented, normal, every day type of folks.
So which is the “true” Islam? The type displayed by ISIS which as you point out is their reading and understanding of the Koran? Or the type displayed and lived by the Muslims I have known?
I really don’t know.
But because I know that there are Christians who are not Christians despite what they call themselves, I have problems saying for certain that a person or group is following the tenants of Islam because they say they are and label their group as such.
With all that being said, Obama’s point in his speech was poorly worded. He tries to make a distinction and when he does, I keep thinking that the DHS and the FBI have no issues lumping conservative Christians in with white supremacy groups yet Obama wants people to latch onto his claim that ISIS / ISIL is not “islam.”
Good luck with that.
I brought myself to look at some of this speech. What I was reminded of was the speech by Jimmy Carter were he implored everyone to understand that things were just fine and nothing to worry with.
Guitar,
As to Islam, I too have been around a number of Muslims. In many ways, they are the same as everyone. But, there is something in there message that seems to promote extreme violence against innocent people. In addition, their so called religion holds as its major tenet that they are to rule the world and that they have God’s permission to indiscriminately kill. Certainly bad things have been done in the name of religion. Thus my attitude that religion is one of the worst things man ever invented. But the difference between Christianity and Islam in 2014 is that Islam has declared war on us. Christianity has not. A few years ago a blog site listed all countries by their proportion of population that was Muslim and the social difficulties they experienced. It was amazing to see that as the population of Muslims began to exceed 5%, there was marked difficulty with them and that once they exceeded 50%, they took over the government and instituted totalitarian control. Our war is with Islam, not extremist.
….Islam has declared war on us.
With all due respect, I am pretty sure that “Islam” has made no statements to that effect. Followers or those who purport to be followers may have made that statement, but not “Islam” itself.
Me too. I worked with a lot of them at my previous job, and work with several now.
That is the question. The problem here is that there are a lot of passages in the Koran which say that those practicing the “extremist” view point, whether violent like ISIS or calm like the Muslim Brotherhood, are the true practitioners of Islam, while the moderates are not the real Muslim adherents.
If I look at a group like the Westboro Baptist Church, or someone like Father Phlager and Reverend Wright, I see folks not following the Bible. ISIS is following what it says in the Koran.
“ISIL is not Islamic.” As I saw somewhere- “Then is it ok to say you’re not a Christian?”
No where in the Bible does it say something like this about the non-believer:
“If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you … Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die.”
or
“However, the prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.”
J-Old Testament or New Testament? And if it is the New Testament, do you see Christians in any way shape or form acting that out? Details, details
Trust me when I say I am not arguing what is a “true Muslim.” I really am not.
My point is that ascribing that a group that calls itself “Muslim” may not be so.
True. But yet Westboro, Wright, et al,, claim that they are following the tenants of Christianity and the other groups are misled.
I just see a lot of parallels between labels in different religions.
jl, I remember when I was growing up the question that was asked in many circles was “if you were arrested and charged for being a Christian, would you be convicted?”
In some way this is a very esoteric discussion and to some extent, I don’t care.
I see it not so much as a difference in religions, but rather a continuing fight between good and evil (Ephesians 6:12) where tags for religions and sects are hiding the good and hiding the evil.
If evil is calling itself an “atheist,” that is where evil is. If evil is calling itself “Muslim,” then that is where evil is. If evil is calling itself “Christian,” that is where evil is.
Tags and labels may not matter.
Actions do.
You’re right.
The quoted passages have nothing to do with a “non-believer.”
Perhaps you should read Romans 1:22 before you start talking about things you have no clue about.
ISIS is to Islam as the KKK is to Christianity.