Harold Rhode served for 28 years as an analyst covering Middle Eastern affairs at the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Joseph Raskas is a combat veteran of the Israel Defense Forces and currently a Fellow participating in The Public Interest Fellowship.
Western refusal to confront radical Islam has created the climate in which Islamists on all sides have proceeded ruthlessly and efficiently – without disturbance.
It would appear the Islamic State (IS) has set its sights on the United States. But still, the Obama administration remains shrouded in denial about the roots of radical Islamism.
Unfortunately, the contemporary intellectual climate has blinded policymakers to the reality that the marauding Sunni militia is but the latest chapter in a longer saga of cataclysmic violence – uniquely Islamic.