Misleading from the Rear: The Presidential Address

Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It took President Obama less than one minute into last night’s 15-minute national address to again claim credit for taking out Osama bin Laden. The speech was an apparent effort to shore up his declining poll numbers among voters. With the US Senate majority in play, the President is currently a human boat anchor for Democrat candidates attempting to stay afloat.

The President; however, missed his mark. If he wants the faith of the American people then he needs to shoot straight with us. There is this statement, “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.” The only true part of that statement is “the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim” and while that part of the statement is true, it is also misleading.

ISIL has certainly killed members of other religions. Its seeming preference for killing fellow Islamists; however, is simply a function of opportunity not preference. Does anyone doubt that members of ISIL would shy away from killing more Christians or Jews if they found themselves with the opportunity?

As for the rest of that statement, it was pure political correctness. Is ISIL Islamic? By their own definition and assertion, they are. This is the same politically correct nonsense that branded Major Nidal Hasan’s murder of 13 Americans and the attempted murder of 32 others as “workplace violence” despite his reported cries of “Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire.

Regarding the “no religion condones the killing of innocents”, perhaps President Obama should consider the following among the many verses in the Quran that endorse the killing of non-believers who do not convert or pay the extra taxes required of non-Muslims.

“If the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is a disease, and the alarmists in the city do not cease, We verily shall urge thee on against them, then they will be your neighbors in it but a little while. Accursed, they will be seized wherever found and slain with a (fierce) slaughter.” – Quran 33:60-62

Then we have this statement from our Commander-in-Chief, “Moreover, I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are.” To quote the Beatles, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Two years after Benghazi we arrested Abu Khatallah, the “mastermind” of that terrorist attack, and brought him back for trial.

US Attorney General “Eric the Dread” Holder has proclaimed that Khatallah will be given a trial in US federal court. So here we go again, the Obama Administration is in love with litigation and the court system to the detriment of American interests. Yes, you killed our Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans in an orchestrated military attack so it’s off to court with you.

Oooooo! And who wouldn’t be afraid of an American jury deciding on a slam-dunk murder charge? I mean other than O. J. Simpson and Casey Anthony and a cast of hundreds. What’s the real message from President Obama? Don’t kill Americans or our lawyers will get you! Beware our fierce gray-pinstriped warriors armed with briefcases and rhetoric!

President Obama did list a four-part plan for dealing with ISIL, but if he can’t be honest with the American people in defining the problem then the details are not pertinent. If President Obama can’t even be truthful enough to recognize that people who have declared an Islamic Caliphate are actually Muslims then why should we believe anything he says?

The main thrust of President Obama’s speech was a reassurance to the American voters that he wasn’t nearly as disengaged as he appears to be. He’s certainly not disengaged from politics as his insistence on placing politically correct rhetoric above honesty shows. As for engagement in US foreign policy, I have never seen a man in power less prepared to make decisions than Barack Obama.

Today’s Quote: “When the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service. They will become flatterers instead of legislators; the instruments, not the guides, of the people.” – Edmund Burke