Posted on 09/02/2006 8:43:02 AM PDT by conservativecorner
President Bush has toned down his war rhetoric after Muslim-rights groups complained his description of the enemy as "Islamic fascists" unfairly equates Islam with terrorism.
In his speech to the American Legion Thursday, Bush backed away from the term, defining the enemy simply as "fascists" and "totalitarians."
He said the war on terror was an "ideological struggle" with terrorists who "kill those who stand in the way of their totalitarian ideology," but he did not identify the source of the ideology. His only reference to Islam during the speech was in noting that the Muslim terrorists are distorting the tenets of the religion. "Free societies are a threat to their twisted view of Islam," he said.
In a press conference last week, Bush also avoided repeating the phrase "Islamic fascists," reverting instead to more general language such as "extremists" to describe the threat.
"This is a global war on terror. We're facing, you know, extremists that believe something," he said. "And they want to achieve objectives."
While the White House declined to comment officially about the dropping of the term 'Islamic fascists,' a White House insider explained that the president is sensitive to concerns raised by Muslim leaders.
"The president never meant to imply we're at war with Islam, but some took it that way," the official said. "It's not a climb-down as much as a recognition of the concerns of the Muslim community."
In a major rhetorical shift, Bush last month began describing the enemy as "Islamic fascists," sparking a firestorm of criticism from Muslim groups.
The pressure groups, led by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, lobbied the president to stop using the term. Washington-based CAIR fired off a letter to Bush arguing that continued use of the "hot-button" term would only harm the image of America "in the Islamic world."
"We believe this is an ill-advised term and we believe that it is counterproductive to associate Islam or Muslims with fascism," added CAIR executive director Nihad Awad.
Awad warned Bush to choose his words carefully so as not to "start a religious war against Islam and Muslims."
"We urge him and we urge other public officials to restrain themselves," he asserted.
CAIR is a spin-off of the Islamic Association for Palestine, identified by two former FBI counterterrorism chiefs as a "front group" for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Several CAIR leaders have been convicted on terror-related charges.
Washington officials have been careful during the war on terror to distinguish between Islam and the terrorists so as not to offend Muslims.
The distinction has rankled many conservatives who see little difference.
After 9-11, Bush frequently referred to Islam as a "religion of peace" and asserted the terrorists were "perverting" or "hijacking" the faith. A search of transcripts shows that, to date, the president has not publicly used the terms "Islamic terrorists" or "Islamic terrorism."
The White House insider says it's unlikely Bush will repeat the term "Islamic fascists" out of deference to Muslim groups.
He called them islamo-facists yesterday. This story is BS.
LLS
you don't see ali baba toning down his rhetoric so we're not offended, do you? Mercy is wasted upon the merciless.
WND masquerades as a serious news source. Most of us know that it isn't.
i concur
why empower them?
Last time he used the term to my knowledge was 8/8. Do you have a link to where he used the term yesterday?
What does that mean? Are you saying they're making this up?
can you imagine in WW2 a japanese group protesting the American War propaganda machine for calling them nips or a german american gruop objecting to the word krauts. I am starting to feel and fear we are losing this, not because of a superior enemy but we refuse to deal with internal war underminers and political correctness
whats wrong with the truth? now the Pres cant tell the truth???
Yes, the fact that Bush didn't use a particular term in a particular speech has been made into a story that suggests he's been intimidated.
This is yellow journalism. Period.
What else would you expect from loon joe farah and his "world nut daily"
BTW, one of his most prominent supporters and writers at WND(pat buchanan) wrote a pro-islamofascist piece for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
No, I heard it on Foxnews.
LLS
IMO that's why GW is so down in the polls with this war because it has been sucked in with too much PC. You may not like him but Savage yells to point out that PC is killing us & it is. Again with Savage, it WILL take a couple of 9-11s to happen before this PC crapola goes out the door & we take it to this so-called religion of peace. A president that is fearful of calling it like it is is one than I am fearful as a leader.
Well...I "fired" off an email to him saying I hope he uses Islamic Fascists as every other word in every sentence from now on!
Where did he say it? Give me a place and a date and I can probably find a transcript.
It's time for some true conservatives - some tough, realistic conservatives to get into power! I am so tired of my own party's behavior over the last couple of years. It's sickening.
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