Dem Rep: ‘Bipartisan Concern’ Obama Won’t Use Term ‘Islamic Extremism’

Dem Rep. Doubles Down: ‘Bipartisan Concern’ Obama Won’t Use Term ‘Islamic Extremism’ To Identify Enemies (RealClearPolitics)

REP. TULSI GABBARD (D-HAWAII): I think this is a bipartisan concern. It's a bipartisan concern for all of us to make sure that we keep the American people safe and specifically when we talk about this terminology, the use of Islamic extremism. Terminology and the use of this specific term is important because words are an expression of your feeling and your understanding. So as, for example, last night, the president came and talked to Congress about coming to request an authorization to use military force.

By his not using this term "Islamic extremism" and clearly identifying our enemies, it raised a whole host of questions in exactly what Congress will be authorizing? Who will we be targeting? Who is our enemy? And unless you understand who your enemy is, unless you clearly identify your enemy, then you cannot come up with a very effective strategy to defeat that enemy.

This is what's giving me great concern as we look specifically at this authorization but also as we look at this overall issue of how do we defeat this threat of Islamic extremism that's not just occurring in the Middle East, that isn't just about this one group called ISIS or another group called al Qaeda, it's a much larger war really that is as much an ideological war as it is a military war.