The seemingly amateurish and insulting action by the Obama administration and Attorney General Loretta Lynch in the wake of the Orlando massacre, when they omitted references to the shooter’s allegiance to terror groups, is a stunning example of an attempt to rewrite history. This is more obvious than their attempt to blame the 2012 Benghazi attack on a YouTube video.
Congressional declaration aside — a constitutional responsibility that is needed — we are at war. The enemy of America and the West is radical Islam in any form, whether American-born, refugee, illegal alien or otherwise. We must declare war on radical Islam in all its forms and care less about political correctness. Withdrawing from the battlefield, as the Obama administration has done, does not mean the state of war does not exist.
The most recent battlefield was Orlando’s Pulse nightclub. This is not a war of two armies facing each other on a geographical battlefield. This is not a war over territory on land or sea. This is not a war of two ethnicities with political disagreement. Radical Muslims come from and exist on every continent in just about every ethnicity. Its followers have declared war on the West, and they are committed to their goal of seeing the caliphate with the world under his boot. America is the great Satan, from their view, and their biggest prize.
Orlando terrorist Omar Mateen did not separate Democrats and Republicans during his attack — he targeted a group of homosexuals indiscriminately based on his beliefs and allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and al Qaeda. But Democrats are now faced with a conundrum: Which of their claimed minority groups will they sacrifice to protect the other? It is clear in the wake of Orlando that they are throwing the gay community under the bus to avoid dealing directly with radical Islam.
Politicians on both the left and the right have gotten it wrong on this issue.
This is not about gun control, the incredibly idiotic but not surprising response from the administration following the attack. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson himself pushed gun control on CNN on June 14:
“We have to face the fact that meaningful, responsible gun control is a matter of homeland security. It is a matter of public safety. It is also a matter of homeland security,” he said. “Given the tragic events in Orlando … given what happened in San Bernardino last year, the American public and the Congress have to face the fact that we need to address meaningful, responsible gun control to make it more difficult for a terrorist to get his hands on a gun.” This from the man charged with leading the agency that is supposed to protect the homeland.
President Obama, Hillary Clinton and the Democrats would have you believe that statements made by many on the right are being used as a recruiting tool for radical Islam. Don’t buy the hype — the terrorists don’t care what our politicians say. And if Obama’s reticence to engage in a war against an amorphous and global enemy is a recruiting tool, as the Republicans claim, then empty rhetoric by longtime Republicans who have ignored or pushed failed alliances with terrorist supporters within foreign governments is also part of the problem.
The FBI and law enforcement must be resourced properly and given the latitude to protect us, without the violation of our constitutional rights. We need to focus on updating due process and address the lack of resources, which can hamper our law enforcement agencies when it comes to investigating potential terrorists. Congress needs to enact legislation to deal with those who are American citizens and enemy combatants. And we owe our thanks to the good men and women at the FBI who work daily to protect us at home and abroad.
We must become one America and one world, united as we were after World War II. In this war, against this global enemy, there will be casualties everywhere. The very harsh reality is that as we attack radical Islam in the Middle East and around the world, its supporters, American-born or otherwise, will counterattack, and hundreds or thousands of Americans will die.
Webb is host of “The David Webb Show” on SiriusXM Patriot 125, a Fox News contributor and has appeared frequently on television as a commentator. Webb co-founded TeaParty365 in New York City. His column appears twice a month in The Hill.