U.S. president Barack Obama is already at odds with his new Army general in Afghanistan over his ridiculous “Islam’ doctrine.
You may recall back in April when Obama issued a directive to strike the words, “Islamic extremism” and “Jihad” from all national security references. Well, it seems that Petreaus wasn’t paying attention.
Since taking office in January 2009, Obama has continuously reached out to Muslim countries. He has praised Islam and its contributions to the American way of life. And in a controversial directive, Obama encouraged the head of NASA to reach out to Muslims.
But The Washington Times reports that Obama’s official policy of banning the word “Islam” in describing America’s terrorist enemies is “in direct conflict with the U.S. military’s war-fighting doctrine now guiding commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan.” [link]
In fact, General Petraeus sees no distinction between Islamist insurgents and terrorism. To him they are one and the same — and that’s going to pose a problem for the 1st Muslim president of the United States.
The Petraeus doctrine refers to “Islamic insurgents,” “Islamic extremists” and “Islamic subversives.” It details ties between Muslim support groups and terrorists.
Larry Korb, a military analyst at the Center for American Progress, says it is incorrect to link Islam to terrorism.
“Once you attach a religious thing, you’re basically saying somehow or other this is caused by the religion,” Mr. Korb said. “Most Muslims are not that way.”
But Gen. Petreaus doesn’t believe the link between Islam and terrorism should be ignored.
The Petraeus counterinsurgency manual takes the position that, to understand the enemy, commanders must recognize terrorist links to Islam — its leaders in some cases, its fundraising and its infrastructure. Forces must fight “Islamic extremists,” it says, differently from the Viet Cong or followers of Saddam Hussein.
“Islamic extremists use perceived threats to their religion by outsiders to mobilize support for their insurgency and justify terrorist tactics,” the manual states. Read More…
