Obama's Homeland Security Assessment Avoids the Dreaded I-Word

If there's a silver lining, I see no mention of the absurd term "man-caused disaster" in this report and they do actually mention terrorism a number of times. But there's not a single mention of "Islam," "Islamic" or "Islamist" anywhere to be found.

Two new documents laying out the Obama administration's defense and homeland security strategy over the next four years describe the nation's terrorist enemies in a number of ways but fail to mention the words Islam, Islamic or Islamist.

The 108-page Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, made public last week by the Department of Homeland Security, uses the term "terrorist" a total of 66 times, "al Qaeda" five times and "violent extremism" or "extremist" 14 times. It calls on the U.S. government to "actively engage communities across the United States" to "stop the spread of violent extremism."

Yet in describing terrorist threats against the United States and the ideology that motivates terrorists, the review - like its sister document from the Pentagon, the Quadrennial Defense Review - does not use the words "Islam," "Islamic" or "Islamist" a single time.

Although the homeland security official in charge of developing the review insists it was a not a deliberate decision, the document is likely to reignite a debate over terminology in the U.S.-led war against al Qaeda that has been simmering through two administrations.

"There was not an active choice" to avoid using terms derivative of Islam, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman told reporters on a conference call. President Obama had "made it clear as we are looking at counterterrorism that our principal focus is al Qaeda and global violent extremism, and that is the terminology and language that has been articulated" by Mr. Obama and his advisers, Mr. Heyman added. He declined to use the I-word.

Even squishy RINO's find this ridiculous.

Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, said in a statement that she was "struck" by what she called the "glaring omission."

Other kinds of extremism - for instance, white supremacism - are also seen as threats by many analysts, but they generally are acknowledged to pose a much less significant danger.

"To understand a threat and counter it, we must know our enemy," said Ms. Collins, the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. "While there are other threats to our national security from other types of violent extremism, the gravest threat comes from Islamist extremists. ... In a review such as this, it is critical that we identify and address the specific threat posed by Islamist extremism."

Ms. Collins noted that the publicly available portions of the recent Pentagon report on the attack at Fort Hood also did not use terms related to Islam. "We shouldn't be reluctant to identify our enemy," she said.

Don't let it be said the Obama administration is reluctant to identify their enemies. Just look at their failed wars against Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.