The Obama administration has no shame whatsoever about its denialist approach to radical Islamic terror. Rather than admit that its conference on “violent extremism” was, at best, window-dressing after the embarrassment of avoiding the Paris anti-terror march, it is attempting to turn political correctness into a foreign policy doctrine. The latest example is Secretary of State John Kerry’s “plan” for fighting “violent extremism,” published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal.
The “plan” consists of “building a global partnership” by “showing the world the power of peaceful communities instead of extremist violence.” That means more summits, and “building alternatives that are credible and visible to the populations where terrorists seek to thrive” by highlighting “good governance.” This is the risible “Jobs for ISIS” approach that deputy State Department spokesperson Marie Harf introduced this week, reviving a false argument that poverty causes terror.
So in response to the specific threat posed by “violent extremists”–nearly all of whom come from a specific faith and choose the same kinds of targets, over and over again–the Obama administration is proposing the equivalent of a Reform Jewish summer camp, or a Unitarian interfaith dinner. This is not a plan, but a James Taylor cameo–and one that is going to ensure that more people are killed by terrorists while we dither over whether or not Muslims might feel offended.
If “good governance” really were the goal, the Obama administration would be proposing the one solution that has brought stability, peace, and prosperity when it has been applied in earnest: all-out war to the point of unconditional surrender, followed by long-term military occupation with sufficient troops to rebuild enemy societies in a fashion the rest of the world finds tolerable. But that is exactly what Obama wants to avoid. So instead, we are to sing “Kumbaya.” Unbelievable.