“Radical Islam, Islamic extremism – you know, I’m not sure an awful lot is gained by saying that. It doesn’t have an impact on our military posture, an impact on what we call it, on the policies we put in place.” And that’s why the Obama policies are failing. A refusal to define the enemy properly, and a prohibition on understanding his motives and goals, is a recipe for defeat and disaster. “The terminology has, seems to me, little or no impact on what ultimately we have to do.” There’s your problem right there, Holder. You cannot prescribe the proper remedy without the proper diagnosis.
“Holder: Little to Be Gained in Calling Islamic Terrorism ‘Islamic Terrorism,'” by Patrick Goodenough, CNS News, February 18, 2015:
Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder took a swipe Tuesday at critics of the Obama administration’s reluctance to call Islamic terrorism Islamic terrorism, reserving a particular dig for Fox News.
“You know, we spend more time, more time, talking about what do you call it as opposed to what do you do about it,” he said at the National Press Club in Washington. “You know, really, you know, if Fox didn’t talk about this, they’d have nothing else to talk about, it would seem to me.”
“Radical Islam, Islamic extremism – you know, I’m not sure an awful lot is gained by saying that. It doesn’t have an impact on our military posture, an impact on what we call it, on the policies we put in place.”
“I don’t worry an awful lot about what the appropriate terminology, you know, ought to be,” Holder continued. “I think that people need to actually think about that and think about, really, we’re having this conversation about words as opposed to what our actions ought to be?”
Holder said the problem was a difficult and ongoing one.
“The terminology has, seems to me, little or no impact on what ultimately we have to do.”…
jihad3tracker says
B.H.O. the ventriloquist / E. H. the dummy. Probably another six-martini night for the attorney-general . . .
jihad3tracker says
“And saying terrorism is 99% Islamic would also lose Dems the 2016 Muslim vote — which we desperately need after all the years of the president’s appalling record.”
Jaladhi says
Another gobbledygook from this supposedly very “smart” man!! No wonder we are in such a bad shape!!
umbra says
Not an awful lot to be gained from listening to holder. Quite possibly, listening to him could impedes one’s cognitive ability and reasoning faculty.
cs says
It is as stupid as you can get.
Georg says
So we have an ATTORNEY general who is adamant that TERMINIOLOGY DOESN’T MATTER? Wowsers.
Can’t say I saw that coming… But it does make me worry about what’s next. Biologists who think “Studying life is dumb”? Physicists who say “F–k math”??
Been There Got the Tee Shirt says
TERMINOLOGY DOESN’T MATTER? I guess EH has his own law dictionary that he references as he pulls these truly idiotic statements together. If the AG doesn’t understand the language, then he must not be able to understand the law, in which case he should be fired for incompetence. Oh, I forgot, he’s leaving. Will his replacement be any better? I’d bet against it.
It really is getting painful to listen to any of the BHO administration’s talkers. But there are some truly amusing moments, like yesterday when the Pentagon talker squirmed with the question about the general moral at DoD with BHO at the helm.
Georg says
Yes, there is a very SNL-esque aura surrounding the admin and their antics. But for the same reason I thought Reno 9/11 was superfluous, so is the SNL anology here: The lampoon is actually less absurd than the lampooned, and necessarily so, because you can’t make this stuff up. If only we were aliens watching from afar– what great comedy we’re missing!
mortimer says
Georg wrote, “So we have an ATTORNEY general who is adamant that TERMINOLOGY DOESN’T MATTER?”
Yeah, and if he tried that on a judge, the judge would tell him to take a recess and then tell the judge whether he wants to continue as a lawyer.
Georg says
I’d like to see him in Philosophy 101 arguing that terminology doesn’t matter.
shrugger says
I like the way Scott Ott put it. “It’s not Radical islam. It’s not Extreme islam. It’s Literal islam.”
A billion [peaceful] muslims are in fact the Radicals.
I feel we should use that at every opportunity. Their heads would explode from it.
Literal muslims blew up…
Literal muslims beheaded…
Literal islam advocates [place atrocity here]
Georg says
How about “Orthodox”? Everyone knows what it means and that’s how they behave.
shrugger says
That won’t work for the so called low information voter. I’m afraid it’ll just be applied with the same brush as Orthodox Jew, Orthodox Christian, Orthodox Buddhist.
Georg says
Yes, I’ve thought of that before. I would say “moderate” Muslims, and the “Orthodox” you refer to above are actually heterodox, leading to a dissonance, lest I get flamed on here…
Georg says
Sorry to respond to my own post, but…
What you “call” something is a manifestation of how you think about it. How you think about something determines what you do about it. What you do about it MATTERS. So… what you call something matters. This concludes today’s pre-school lesson on reality. Tomorrow: How to eat carrots. Friday: Velcro. We’ll get there eventually, nothing to worry about.
peter weber says
I prefer Noddy Holder …
IQ al Rassooli says
The fault does not rest with Obama and or Holder. It rests first of all with the elected men & women in congress and failing that with WE THE PEOPLE!
Any decent human being with TWO brain cells of logic just watching the news will come to the following very simple conclusions:
1. 100% of ALL acts of slaughter and terror everywhere in the world against Infidels/ Kuffar are committed by MUSLIMS
2. Any politician, academician, newspaper person or among the clergy who will not associate Islam with terror must be REMOVED from office
3. Our WORST enemies are NOT the Muslims (who have been threatening, slaughtering, subjugating, plundering, raping and enslaving hundreds of millions of none Muslim humanity for the last 1400 and continuing) but our own leaders in the West who literally REFUSE to associate Islam with terror although the Monster fills up the whole room
4. There are NO Moderate, Militant, Radical or Extremist Muslims. Islam is Islam said Erdogan the president of Turkey to his colleague European leaders BUT they assert that they know more about Islam than any Muslim!
5. The West needs to CLEAN house by literally putting on trial for Criminal Negligence all those who DENY Islam’s existential threat to Western Civilization starting with IMPEACHING Obama on at least THREE counts
6. In a nutshell: Muhammad, his Quran, his Sunna, Sharia & ALL 1.5 billion of his followers are: Hate mongering Warmongering Misogynist, Disloyal, Racist, Intolerant, Subversive, Treacherous, Hypocritical, Vile and hence totally Ungodly
Please SUE me for telling the TRUTH!
Iq al Rassooli
Kafir & Proud!
FarmerMike says
I agree w/ you, Iq al Rassooli. Let’s impeach Obama! We all need to get “Impeach Obama” bumper stickers, & sign petitions, & contact our reality-based Congressional Representatives. And clean house of the rest of them. All that is first on my agenda. Next, we need to be thinking about how to avoid allowing ourselves to be politically maneuvered into this foolish & dangerous position again!
Salah says
“Our WORST enemies are NOT the Muslims…but our own leaders in the West…”
You’re absolutely right, but…
We, the people, are FULLY responsible of our leaders’ actions, or lack of.
We have elected them. Now, we have the moral duty, right and responsibility to remove them.
Even Muslims know better…
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-end-of-muslim-brotherhood.html
Doglicka says
Yes Salah, you are correct.
Unfortunately, unless Islamic immigration is halted and the flood of illegals in America’s south cannot be swaged, these ready-made Democrat voters who don’t care about you, or your country, who only want to use you for your benefits, will keep voting Democrat.
All the while, Obama and the leftists will sit back and feel morally righteous.
This is I suppose, a fatal flaw in Democracy.
Doglicka says
There are also a large portion of American population that are racist and will vote for a black president no matter what he does. A significant part of that population has been taught to be a victim by those on the left, just like many Muslims, and the two groups find succor in one another. This will not be easily solved at the ballot box.
Salah says
@ Doglicka
“This will not be easily solved at the ballot box.”
Elections won’t solve the problem; both parties are in bed with the enemy. The whole system is corrupt, the whole system needs to go.
America and Europe need a MASSIVE but peaceful popular uprising (PEDIGA style) to remove the traitors from power and bring them to justice. Then, start from scratch.
They’ve done it in Egypt, and they WON.
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-end-of-muslim-brotherhood.html
Mirren10 says
“Radical Islam, Islamic extremism – you know, I’m not sure an awful lot is gained by saying that. It doesn’t have an impact on our military posture, an impact on what we call it, on the policies we put in place.”
Translate:
“Radical Nazism, Nazi extremism – you know, I’m not sure an awful lot is gained by saying that. It doesn’t have an impact on our military posture, an impact on what we call it, on the policies we put in place.”
Dear God.
Bezelel says
“Radical Islam, Islamic extremism – you know, I’m not sure an awful lot is gained by saying that.( It doesn’t have an impact on our military posture, an impact on what we call it, on the policies we put in place.”)
That is the problem, It’s supposed to have an impact on strategy and policy and why isn’t holder in prison?
Sam says
How can this person be so out of it? It is the most important thing in solving a problem, identify it with the true name to be given to the problem. In this case it should be only ISLAM. Not Islamic extremism, terrorism and others. True diagnosis of the cancer is ISLAM.
kd says
Nothing to be gained? How about a couple of testicles?
Angemon says
Huh, Fox is a TV network. It’s not up to Fox to come up with a strategy to fight against the islamic state. Of course, had Fox did just that, the Federal Dick would find a way to disregard them – damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
The policies you put in place disregard the primary motivation of the islamic state: islam. Your refusal to call them what they are – islamic terrorists – merely reflects that.
Eric Holder – what a federal dick.
Georg says
I don’t think it’s very befitting for an Attorney General to be making comments about specific news outlets in general, and especially with a constituency as divided as the US’s and Obama’s approval ratings on this issue.
somehistory says
“You know, we spend more time, more time, talking about what do you call it as opposed to what do you do about it,”
This is an explanation of what goes on behind the closed doors when discussing the beast.
(The wild beast of Revelation 13; 17;19). For more than one reason, they dare not call it what it is, but must preserve its image.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
Gained. After all these years finally he faces up to the primary threat posed to our freedom, the grave direct threat, and he talks about what can be gained from addressing it. He and his mulato buddy have ushered the nation into its post-Constitutional era a few years ago, which means we must rely on their good intent is free wheeling it. Ok, and what they’re gonna do is apply the transactional analysis of campaign politics instead of the policy content to analyze and deal with it.
Gain something for the bargain. That’s alright to bring in 40 million cheap labor guaranteed client voter aboriginals from meso-America, maybe. But there are no bargains with Moslems, you pompous dumbass.
Ed says
“You know, we spend more time, more time, talking about what do you call it as opposed to what do you do about it, … you know, …”
Call it United States of America now or call it Islamic States of America later.
Once BHO caliphate is complete, it will still be a country in America.
mortimer says
Holder said, ““Radical Islam, Islamic extremism – you know, I’m not sure an awful lot is gained by saying that…”
Then off the record, he said, “OK, stop it you guys! You caught me…I know it isn’t true too, but I’m getting paid to tell you this total crap!…You happy now? I admit it’s bunk!”
duh_swami says
The name Islam is one word, not two. There is no religion of radical Islam, unless Islam itself is radical. So The word ‘radical’ is redundant. Just plain old, regular, mainstream Islam, is the only one.
Bamaguje says
Sun Tzu said it best in his brilliant military classic (The Art of War) – “Know your enemy.”
Obama and Holder refuse to know the Islamist enemy, thereby undermine the war on terror.
DVult says
Nothing can be gained except a correct understanding of the problem.