Jindal Campaign Press Release - Op-Ed: It's Time to Stop Pretending on Radical Islam

Op-Ed by Gov. Bobby Jindal in Conservative Review

Let's be honest here. The President's inability to say the words Radical Islam is threatening our national security and the safety of the American people. It's time to stop pretending.

Radical Islam has brought terror and death across the Middle East and the world—and on American soil — yet this president calls it just "violent extremism" or something similar. He gets it wrong nearly every time.

Yesterday, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron got it right. He had the courage to say what President Obama will not, when he said that, "We need to confront and expose Islamist extremism as a belief system that glorifies violence and subjugates people." This leaves President Obama as pretty much the only leader in the free world who refuses to speak the truth about Radical Islam.

Our President's political correctness and fear of speaking the truth are no longer amusing, they are just plain dangerous, because you cannot defeat an enemy you refuse to name.

President Obama cannot claim to be working with our allies when he refuses to join them in naming our common enemy. He has proven himself incapable as Commander-in-Chief.

This is one case where President Obama should lead from behind — he should follow the lead of our British ally, name the enemy and resolve to destroy Radical Islam.

Defeating Radical Islam can be done and must be done. It will take American leadership and military strength, and it will take leadership from Muslim leaders as well as the West. Right now, we have neither.

This is one case where President Obama should lead from behind — he should follow the lead of our British ally, name the enemy and resolve to destroy Radical Islam.

We also must strengthen our immigration policy. If people want to come to America in order to use our freedoms to undermine our freedoms — we have the absolute right to say no thanks. This should be obvious to everyone and is basic common sense.

If you claim that you want to carry out these attacks because of your so-called religion, that's ridiculous and we don't have an obligation to honor your request. There are many American citizens who are Muslim and who believe in America, and they are tremendous.

But let's not pretend that there are not many people in the world today who are Radical Islamists — who use their religion to justify savage violence and treating women like property.

We should not let people like that immigrate to our country, we would be fools to do that. And only a lemming would fail to see that Europe has a terrible problem in this regard.

They have too many immigrants who do not want to assimilate into their culture, but instead want to establish their own culture and laws in direct opposition. That is just fact, and everyone knows it, and I will not be intimidated on this.

We have no idea how many people are being wooed by Radical Islam, with the sick and deceitful promise of glory in the afterlife if they will murder innocent people.

Frankly, our President needs to be honest about it and take action to protect our people. That's his job.

He must also call on Islamic leaders to do more than simply condemn violence. We have no idea how many people are being wooed by Radical Islam, with the sick and deceitful promise of glory in the afterlife if they will murder innocent people. Muslim leaders must make clear that anyone who commits acts of terror in the name of Islam is in fact not a martyr who will enjoy a reward in the afterlife, but rather is going straight to Hell. If they refuse to say this, then they are condoning these acts of barbarism. There is no middle ground.

Islamic leaders must put a stop to this, and it's not too much to ask.

But President Obama has failed to demand this of Islamic leaders. Instead, he hides behind political correctness. He's afraid of calling a spade a spade, but it's simply stating the truth. And the reality is that Radical Muslim leaders benefit from this free pass. They can continue wooing followers with the siren song of a new caliphate and glorious afterlife. This must come to an end.

One of the great things about America is it doesn't matter if you've been here five minutes or a hundred years. For the most part, folks that come here want to be Americans. They understand and value that America offers an opportunity at a better life. They join our military, they start companies, and they work to create a better community. That is the American Dream.

What's not acceptable is people that want to come and conquer us. These immigrants want to come here and change our fundamental culture and values and set up their own. That's not immigration, it's invasion.

Of course, the politically correct crowd will call you a racist for saying things like that. But it's reality. This is the particular threat we face. And if we're not serious about this, we're going to see more lone-wolf actors.

Europe has learned this lesson the hard way. They have not assimilated many of their immigrant populations and the result is that there are pockets of immigrant communities that never really "get" what the country they've moved to is all about. That is not America. In America, we are all Americans because being American is about a set of values: hard work, freedom, and opportunity.

But the first step to fixing this problem is identifying it. We first have to call Radical Islam what it is—evil. I hope the President steps up, does the right thing and helps us defeat Radical Islam once and for all.