Showing posts with label ISIS threat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ISIS threat. Show all posts

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog: In wake of London attack, President Trump should deliver major address...

Coalition-AntiISIS-foreignministers

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

In wake of London attack, President Trump should deliver major address to define “radical Islamic terrorism,” the ISIS threat, and his vision for victory.

by joelcrosenberg  March 23, 2017
(Dallas, Texas) -- Yesterday, the horrific attack in London underscored yet again the threat radical Islamic terrorism poses to our allies. We mourn for those murdered, killed and traumatized, and we pray for the Lord to comfort and heal.
The attack on our British ally was also a stark reminder that such terror could strike inside the U.S. homeland without warning if our leaders do not aggressively improve defensive measures to protect the American people, and launch far more aggressive offensive measures to decisively defeat the Islamic State and other militant Islamist groups.
In this context, I was encouraged that yesterday the Trump-Pence administration was actually hosting a conference of foreign ministers from 68 countries, focused on how to improve cooperation not simply to fight ISIS but to win.
  • Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivered an excellent address (read or watch here).
  • The State Department released a helpful fact sheet detailing the progress that has been made against ISIS so far.
  • The coalition released a statement on areas of agreement and focus for 2017.
Now it is time for President Trump to deliver a major address to the American people on how he views the war against the Islamic State and his vision for victory.
Mr. Trump, to his credit, is the first president in American history to use the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism," which he referred to in his Inaugural Address and his Joint Address to Congress. Neither Presidents George W. Bush nor Barack Obama chose to use this term.
Mr. Trump is absolutely right to shine a spotlight on the homicidal ideology that drives jihadists to wage war against us and our allies. But he must be careful not to assume that everyone understands what he means. The phrase, after all, is simply shorthand.
Now that he has captured people’s attention by using the term "radical Islamic terrorism," it is vitally important that he define it. As leader of the free world, he has an extraordinary platform to educate a national and global audience about the true nature and magnitude of the threat in more detail and with more precision. He should seize it.
He should explain to the nation that last year alone, 37 people were arrested in the U.S. for ISIS-related terrorist plots -- that's three a month. He should explain that ISIS has recruited jihadists from 120 nations, and have killed more than 1,200 people outside of Iraq and Syria. He should explain that as we take territory away from ISIS in the Mideast, thousands of trained and experienced foreign fighters are redeploying all over the world,  to launch new and devastating attacks.
The President should explain the objectives of the global jihadist movement, and why they particularly seek to attack the American people. No American President has ever walked the public through this savage worldview. He should.
At the same time, the President needs to be clear that we are not at war with the religion of Islam, and that he is not talking about the vast majority of Muslims who, in fact, do not pose a threat at all.
careful analysis of extensive polling in the Muslim world since 9/11 by multiple research groups shows that upwards of 90 percent of Muslims worldwide are not radicals. However, it also reveals that between 7 and 10 percent of Muslims worldwide do support the violence of the Islamic State, suicide bombings against innocent civilians, and other acts of violence to accomplish their religious and political objectives. The good news is that the vast majority of Muslims are not a threat. But in a world of 1.6 billion Muslims, 10 percent represents upwards of 160 million people who support terrorism.
Fortunately, according to a new poll we recently commissioned, we found that the American people overwhelmingly rejects the idea that in the conflict with ISIS we are at war with the religion of Islam. Only 10 percent believe that. What's more, only about one-in-three Americans (36 percent) think our leaders should say we are at war with the forces of "violent extremism."
A plurality (45 percent) support the President in saying we are waging war against the forces of "radical Islam," but add that they want our leaders to be careful to explain that most Muslims are not our enemy. The President could do just that in a major address.
The release of these survey results comes as the White House is rightly reaching out to our Mideast allies. President Trump recently met with Jordan's King Abdullah II, and with the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince to discuss the war against ISIS. This week, he also met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, after which he pledged to speed up U.S. support to Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State. Now, Mr. Trump has invited Egyptian President el-Sisi to make his first-ever visit to Washington in early April.
The President is wise to embrace both our Sunni and Shia Muslim allies and work closely with them. But he should not only seek their counsel on developing a better war strategy. He should also get their input on how to craft a much better strategic communications plan to define the nature of our enemy and explain to the public why the stakes are so high. Then he should address the American people.
At the moment, our survey found that Americans believe we are losing the war against ISIS, and nearly 70 percent fear catastrophic terrorist attacks by ISIS are coming to the homeland.
The President is showing impressive leadership in the fight against ISIS and radical Islamic terrorism. Now it's time to brief the American people on what this all means, and where we are going next.
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joelcrosenberg | March 23, 2017 at 1:08 pm | Categories: Epicenter | URL: http://wp.me/piWZ7-7hu

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog: How serious is the ISIS threat to Jordan? Watch a new “60 Minutes” interview with King Abdullah.

cbs60minutes-theking

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

How serious is the ISIS threat to Jordan? Watch a new “60 Minutes” interview with King Abdullah and go inside the “third world war” with the “outlaws” of Islam.

by joelcrosenberg
(Denver, Colorado) -- Last night, the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes" broadcast a must-see story they called, "The King." It was both an illuminating interview with, and an intriguing profile of, Jordan's King Abdullah II, the most loyal Arab ally the U.S. has.
I highly recommend you watch the 14 minute segment, or read the transcript.
It does an excellent job of taking you inside the world my wife, Lynn, and I entered last Spring when the king invited us to spend five days with him after reading my novel, The First Hostage. Just as we did, you'll go inside the palace and hear the king in his own words on the risk that the West is not taking this "third world war" with the "outlaws" of Islam seriously enough. You'll go, as we did, to the Syrian border, and go inside a refugee camp. You'll also learn much more about the clear and present danger the Islamic State, an imploding Syria, and 1.5 million refugees are posing to the Hashemite Kingdom.
In fact, as the segment begins, you'll see correspondent Scott Pelley joining the king on a live-fire military exercise near the Jordanian town of Zarqa in which Jordanian air and ground forces practice attacking an ISIS-controlled village with real bullets, bombs and missiles. This was something His Majesty invited Lynn and me to see with him, as well. It was absolutely fascinating and it really helped us understand more clearly how grave is the threat and yet how uniquely prepared the king is to defend his people.
Whoever emerges as the next President of the United States -- indeed, whoever wins the many House and Senate races underway across the country -- will need to make it a high priority to build a much stronger American alliance with Jordan, and to listen to our most faithful Sunni Arab ally....before it's too late.

Keeping Jordan's balance amid crisis

Terrorism. Civil war. A refugee crisis. Geopolitics. That's the situation in the Middle East and right on Jordan's doorstep. Scott Pelley interviews King Abdullah II
Scott Pelley, "60 Minutes," opening comments: The bombs in New York and New Jersey last week brought the specter of terror home, again. It seems no country is safe, but there is one that is beating fearsome odds. ISIS burned through Syria and Iraq until it hit a firewall, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The king, Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, is holding the front and sheltering millions of refugees despite his struggling economy, no oil wealth and precious little water. If the king can keep his balance, Jordan may prove that an Arab state can remain peaceful, tolerant, and modern. The arsonists torching the Middle East hope to see him fail.
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Scott Pelley, script of the "60 Minutes" segment, "The King": This is not war. These are Jordanian forces sharpening their edge on a make-believe town. Some of their weapons are antique. Attack helicopters designed originally for Vietnam. Surplus-armored cars that they found online. Jordan can’t afford the arsenals of its neighbors. Skill is its advantage.  And, to hone it, they switched in training from blanks to live ammunition.
This is the soldier who ordered the switch. He’s the former head of Special Forces. He is Abdullah II, the king of Jordan.
Why live ammo we shouted? “Everyone uses blanks, makes no sense,” he yelled. There’s no sense in anything less than lethal because no king of Jordan has ever known peace.
Scott Pelley: This is the mosque that you built in honor of your father….
King Abdullah II: Yeah.
Abdullah became king in 1999 on the death of his father who ruled 47 years. We met the 54-year-old at his palace in Amman. He knows ISIS by its Arabic acronym, Daesh. But whatever you call it, he says the West doesn’t realize it’s in a Third World War.
King Abdullah II: I think this is the challenge that we’ve had over the past several years where people look at, you know, is it Iraq this year or Syria next year? Well, what about Libya? What about-- Boko Haram or Shabaab in Africa? We have to look at it from a global perspective.
Scott Pelley: All of these things need to be attacked at the same time. You can’t concentrate on Syria one year and then deal with Boko Haram in another?
King Abdullah II: Well, the prime example, it’s as you see certain military successes in Syria and Iraq against Daesh, the leadership, they’re telling their fighters either, “Don’t come to Syria or Iraq,” or moving their command structure to Libya. And so are we going to wait to get our act together to concentrate on Libya? And then, you know, do we wait a year or two to start helping the Africans deal with Boko Haram or Shabaab? So we’ve got to get ahead of the curve because they’re reacting much quicker than we are.
Scott Pelley: The American strategy in Syria and Iraq, as you know, is to use U.S. air power and to train forces on the ground to fight the battle. That has not worked. How do you move forward from here?
King Abdullah II: I think the problem with the West is they see a border between Syria and Iraq. Daesh does not. And this has been a frustration, I think, for a few of us in this area with our Western coalition partners, for several years. You know, the lawyers get into the act and say, “But there’s an international border.” And we say, “For God’s sake, ISIS doesn’t work that way.” So if you’re looking at it and want to play the game by your rules, knowing that the enemy doesn’t, we’re not going to win this....
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joelcrosenberg | September 26, 2016 at 9:41 pm | Categories: Epicenter | URL: http://wp.me/piWZ7-5He