Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer said on Fox News’ “Special Report” that President Barack Obama was playing an “absurd word game” in his refusal to say the words “radical Islam.” (VIDEO: WH Press Secretary: Not ‘Accurate’ To Call Paris Terrorism ‘Radical Islam’)
KRAUTHAMMER: It’s a silly intention. The entire world knows there is a difference between Islam and radical Islam, and particularly the moderate Muslims… The UAE uses the words ‘radical Islam.’ Egypt, you would admit is a majority Muslim country, 90 percent Muslim. Its president stood up and gave a speech on January 1st to an audience of clerics, in which he said, ‘We have to reform Islam, this is coming out of Islam.’
It is a joke what the administration is doing, because everybody understands that if you use a phrase radical Islam you are not indicting all of Islam. Yet Obama persists in this absurd word game.
WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST CHARLES LANE: If everybody know what is it is what the advantage of actually saying it? If everybody knows is radical Islam what difference does it make if he says it?
KRAUTHAMMER: Everybody understands that we distinguish between radical Islam and Islam. But if you, because you are afraid that there will be people who don’t understand that, you don’t say radical Islam, you say we are fighting ‘violent extremism,’ what does that mean? It means nothing.