Why Republicans want Obama to denounce "radical Islam" — and why he won't do it

Andrew Prokop · Monday, June 13, 2016, 11:25 am

In the wake of the horrific killings at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly focused on two words: "radical Islam."

A statement Trump released Sunday complained that President Obama, in his remarks on the attacks, "disgracefully refused to even say the words 'Radical Islam,'" and "for that reason alone, he should step down." Trump added that "if Hillary Clinton, after this attack, still cannot say the two words 'Radical Islam' she should get out of this race for the Presidency."

President Obama does in fact prefer to avoid using that phrase. And Clinton indeed didn't use that phrase in her initial statement on the terror attacks, and last fall, she said she prefers to avoid the phrase because it wasn't "particularly helpful." However, in an interview with NBC on Monday, she said she was "happy to say" either "radical jihadism" or "radical Islamism," because "they mean the same thing."

To many, both the GOP's apparent obsession with repeating this phrase like a mantra and the Democrats' apparent willingness to tie themselves into knots to avoid ever saying it might seem silly. It sure seems like a lot of fuss over language that's unlikely to have much impact on the US's broader counterterrorism efforts and operations abroad.

In reality, though, this is a serious strategic debate about how the US should communicate and define its objectives in the "war on terror," both internally and externally, that dates back more than a decade.

And it's not purely a partisan controversy — because throughout most of his presidency, George W. Bush was also reluctant to define the conflict in terms that emphasized religion.

Read more
http://www.vox.com/2015/11/16/9745334/obama-radical-islam-isis