Excerpt:
When declaring war against radical Islam in response to the 9/11 bombings, president George W. Bush made the statement that "Islam is a religion of peace."
His laudable intention was to distinguish between radical Islamic fundamentalists, law-abiding American Muslims and "moderate" Islamic states. But the reality is that the impact of radical Islam extends far beyond the identifiable jihadists.
The mantra is chanted mindlessly by the chattering classes and well-intentioned government officials, who delude themselves into believing that such an adamant denial of reality can somehow ease social tensions.
But regrettably, imbedding such a falsehood into public discourse relating to Islamic terror precludes any rational consideration of the root problem. It also empowers radical Islamists and enables them to more effectively intimidate moderate Muslims aspiring to achieve accommodation with the West.