A distinguished terrorism analyst said U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a very disturbing message when he said in an interview before he left for his holiday vacation in Hawaii that the Islamic State (ISIS) "is not an organisation that can destroy the United States."
In that interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep, Obama averred that ISIS "is not a huge industrial power that can pose great risks to us institutionally or in a systematic way," although admitting that "they can hurt us, and they can hurt our people and our families, so I understand why people are worried."
Erick Stakelbeck, a terrorism analyst for the Christian Broadcasting Network and author of "ISIS Exposed: Beheadings, Slavery and the Hellish Reality of Radical Islam," said Obama's message is troubling.
"He fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the threat. He does not understand terrorism, especially of the Islamic variety. He doesn't get it," Stakelbeck told WND. "The Islamic terror threat has already changed our way of life. If you don't believe me, just go to an airport."
Although Obama may be right when he said that the ISIS cannot topple the U.S. government, the terrorist organisation could cripple America and do a lot of damage, including destroying cities and killing thousands of people with the use of weapons of mass destruction, Stakelbeck said.
"If ISIS or another Islamic terror group gets their hands on a weapon of mass destruction, which they are working diligently to acquire, they might not be able to take down the whole country, but they can take out New York, Washington, Chicago (or) L.A. That's not alarmism. That's not fear tactics. That's a fact," he said.
In the same NPR interview, Obama also castigated the media for what he deemed was excessive coverage of ISIS in the wake of the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino.
"[ISIS] combines viciousness with very savvy media operations. As a consequence, if you've been watching television for the past month, all you've been seeing, all you've been hearing about, is these guys with masks or black flags who are potentially coming to get you," Obama said.
What Obama failed to point out, according to Stakelbeck, was that his down security chiefs are the ones dishing out all the scary information about ISIS.
"The FBI director is saying that ISIS has a network of supporters and sympathisers in every state in the union," Stakelbeck said, noting that FBI Director James Comey has admitted that the government is watching some 1,000 possible threats throughout all 50 states.
"Then you have the House Homeland Security Committee that back in September released a report saying 250 U.S. citizens have left their comfortable homes here, traveled to Iraq and Syria to join ISIS, and dozens of them have already returned," Stakelbeck said. "These are government officials saying it. It's not just cable news saying it."
The terrorism expert faulted Obama for failing to understand who America's real enemy, which explains his lack of strategy in dealing with ISIS.
Determining the real enemy begins with identifying the enemy's ideology, Stakelbeck said.
"Terrorism is only a tactic. It is driven by an ideology. It is Islamic jihadist ideology," he said. "President Obama refuses to admit or acknowledge that ideology exists. But if you name it and start to battle back against that ideology, at least you have a fighting chance."
