Critics: US too low-key on Islamic radicalism talk

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press Writer Jul 12, 7:50 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) �  The Obama administration's recent move to drop rhetorical references to Islamic radicalism is drawing fire in a new report warning the decision ignores the role religion can play in motivating terrorists.

(ap) - When the AP originally ran this story earlier in the AM, it read: "US should better define, counter Islamic extremism."  Now it's: "Critics: US too low-key on Islamic radicalism talk."... Classic.  Somebody got spanked @ the AP yesterday for not creating the proper Narrative for this story... Hell, I'm SHOCKED it was even on the Wire for a minute! - tha malcontent)

Several prominent counterterror 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 its strikes against militant groups.

(What fences?... What was Bill Clinton doing to them back in the 90's that led them to Declare War on us in 1996 and start planning 9/11?... Was there ever a bigger Islamic Ass-kiss of a President?... Oh, my bad... Barry Hussein Obama has made BILLARY! look like he Hated Muslims. - tha malcontent)

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

(Let me get this straight... "Moderate American Muslims" FEELINGS are why we aren't Fighting this War the way it should be?... We would have Lost WWII if Barry was President. - tha malcontent)

In the report, which was obtained by The Associated Press, the analysts warn that U.S. diplomacy must sharpen the distinction between the Muslim faith and violent Islamist extremism, identify radicalizers within Islamic communities and empower voices that can contest the radical teachings.

Militant Islamic propaganda has reportedly been a factor in a spate of recent terror attacks and foiled attempts within the U.S. Maj. Nidal Hasan, the suspect in the Fort Hood, Texas, mass shootings last year, is believed to have been inspired by the Internet postings of violent Islamic extremists, as was Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty to terrorism and weapons charges in the May 1 attempted car bombing in New York's Times Square.

(And then there's all those Peace Loving and Tolerant Islamic Nations in the ME... Am I on another Planet or something? - tha malcontent)

The report acknowledges that the Obama administration has beefed up efforts to work with the Muslim community in the U.S. and abroad and has also expanded counterterrorism operations and tried to erode and divide al-Qaida and its affiliated groups.

As it unveiled its new National Security Strategy last May, administration officials said the shift in emphasis was critical in undercutting al-Qaida's efforts to portray its attacks on the U.S. and the west as a justified holy war.

Terror leaders "play into the false perception that they are religious leaders defending a holy cause, when in fact they are nothing more than murderers, including the murder of thousands upon thousands of Muslims," said top administration counterterror deputy John Brennan during a May 24 speech explaining the shift. He added that "describing our enemy in religious terms would lend credence to the lie - propagated by al-Qaida and its affiliates to justify terrorism - that the United States is somehow at war against Islam."

But the administration's two-pronged approach of stepping up counterterror operations while tamping down its rhetoric, the critics argue, needs to also include an ideological counteratteck with policies and programs that empower moderate Islamic voices and contest extremist narratives.

(Don't forget, Barry has NASA doing some Ass-kissing to Islamists also!... - tha malcontent)

"There is an ideology that is driving al-Qaida and its affiliates," said Matt Levitt, one of the authors of the study on countering violent extremism.

The administration, Levitt said, has to separate discussion of Islam as a religion from the radical Islamic ideology that is producing and fueling global insurgencies. The study is due out next week, but the authors, Levitt, a former FBI and Treasury official, and co-author J. Scott Carpenter, were to preview it Monday.

Juan Zarate, a former top counterterror official in the Bush administration, added that the U.S. government has always been uncomfortable dealing with ideological battles. Zarate, who also participated in the report, said there are a number of non-governmental groups already speaking out against violent preachings.

The report follows the public disclosure of an exchange earlier this year between Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Brennan over the effort to scale back the Bush administration's portrayal of Islamic extremism as a root cause of terrorism.

Lieberman raised the issue in a letter to the White House, saying that "the failure to identify our enemy for what it is - violent Islamist extremism - is offensive and contradicts thousands of years of accepted military and intelligence doctrine to 'know your enemy.'"

In a response to Lieberman, Brennan said the administration hasn't specifically issued any directive barring the use of specific words or phrases. But he said it is important to accurately define the enemy and assess the threat.

"In my view, using 'Islamic extremist' and other variations of that phrase does not bring us closer to this objective," Brennan said in a letter to Lieberman. "Rather, the phrase lumps a diverse set of organizations, with different motivations, goals, capabilities and justifications for their actions, into a single group in a way that may actually be counterproductive."

(Let's see how the AP Reports on the next Abortion Clinic Bomber and his Religion... - tha malcontent)

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Online:

Washington Institute for Near East Policy:

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateI01.php

A judge sentenced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick up to five years in prison for violating the terms of his probation on an obstruction of justice conviction.

(ap) - Let's play the, "Can the AP call a DemocRAT a DemocRAT when they are going to Jail" game!... Bet they can't! - tha malcontent)

An audible gasp erupted in the courtroom as deputies rushed to a row where Kilpatrick's family and friends were sitting, The Detroit Free Press reported. One woman was escorted out, the newspaper said.

(No mention of his Party there... - tha malcontent)

"Your testimony in this court amounted to perjury," the judge told Kilpatrick, according to the Free Press. "Most compelling is that you lied to this court, continue to lie, after you pleaded guilty to lying.... The initial 120 days incarceration did nothing to rehabilitate you."

(Or there... - tha malcontent)

Kilpatrick had asked Judge David Groner to show him compassion during the Tuesday hearing, but Groner said "that ship has sailed."

(Or there... - tha malcontent)

A few Detroit reporters said they saw Kilpatrick's hands shaking when he was ordered to sign papers, the Free Press reported. At one point, the judge raised his voice and ordered Kilpatrick to be swift, according to the paper.

(Or there... - tha malcontent)

"Sergeant could you secure the defendant please and put him in the back?" Groner said, according to the Free Press. A deputy then handcuffed the 39-year-old Kilpatrick behind his back and led him to a side room.

(Or there... - tha malcontent)

His attorney said he would appeal.

(Or there... - tha malcontent)

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 2008 after sexually explicit text messages became public, showing he had lied under oath about an affair with a staff member in a whistle-blowers' lawsuit.

(Or there... - tha malcontent)

He resigned, served 99 days in jail, agreed to give up his law license, repay the city $1 million, and stay out of politics for five years.

(Or there... - tha malcontent)

After he was released from jail in February 2009, he found a job as a medical software salesman with Dallas-based Covisint. Since then, he has said he is working on his marriage and trying to be a better father to his three sons. He also has been making $3,000 monthly payments to the city of Detroit, saying he hopes to repay everything he owes.

(Or there... - tha malcontent)

But prosecutors contended he continued to lie � that Kilpatrick could afford to give more and had intentionally hid assets.

(Or there... - tha malcontent)

As of Friday, Kilpatrick had paid $139,223 toward restitution, according to Corrections officials.

(Or there... - tha malcontent)

Plans already had been made to hold Kilpatrick in a jail in Hamtramck, an enclave of Detroit, if he's ordered locked up, Wayne County sheriff's spokeswoman Paula Bridges said.

(Or there... Excellent work, AP!... Had this been a REPUBLICan Mayor it would have been known in the headline and then regurgitated over and over again... We would have also been blessed with how badly the "Scandal" would hurt the Party in November!... If they had ANY shame! - tha malcontent)

The Associated Press also contributed to this report.