President Trump’s new national security adviser doesn’t find the term “radical Islamic terrorism” helpful, the New York Times reported on Friday, while the president has insisted on using such language.
Individuals who attended Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster’s first National Security Council meeting on Thursday told the Times that the newly appointed adviser thinks the term is not beneficial because terrorists are “un-Islamic.”
President Trump repeatedly slammed President Obama and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for avoiding explicitly saying “radical Islamic terrorism.” Trump argued that not identifying enemies hinders the fight against terror, while Democrats argue that such words unfairly link Islam with terrorism.
{mosads}McMaster was picked to be the next national security adviser after his predecessor, Michael Flynn, resigned due to misinforming White House officials about the contents of his phone call with the Russian ambassador.
Flynn once said fear of Muslims is “rational” and likened the religion to a “cancer.” He wrote a book centering on the “global war against radical Islam.”