Bush did not want to declare war on Islam, just the terrorists. Imagine the blowback if he had phrased his statement you wish he had.
> Imagine the blowback if he had phrased his statement you wish he had. <
No disrespect meant to you. I sincerely mean that. But as far as the blowback, too f’ing bad. FDR didn’t pull any punches after Pearl Harbor. He correctly identified the enemy as the Empire of Japan. It wasn’t just a few warmongers within that empire.
After 9/11 Bush II chose another direction. Let’s give Islam a break. Ignore that every last terrorist was a Muslim. Ignore that a root belief of Islam is that all infidels must either convert or die.
FDR forced Japan and Germany to abandon their sick beliefs. It took blood and sacrifice, but FDR and his allies got the job done.
On the other hand, Bush II left Islam off the hook almost entirely. And so that sick belief thrives today. We needed an FDR after 9/11. Instead we got a Neville Chamberlain.