A Global Battleground

Before 9/11 we failed to recognize the threat from global Islamist terror when it was right before our eyes. This failure brought us into war with violent Islamist extremism, the perversion of a religion into a deeply insidious worldview. Any attempt to deny the ideological underpinnings of the threat endangers our security. Throughout history we have seen power vacuums filled by violent groups, deranged dictators, and extremist ideologies. Nowhere is this more evident than with the rise of Islamist terror groups, which have spread like wildfire on President Obama's watch because of two glaring leadership failures. The first failure was the President's decision to spin a false narrative. The White House proclaimed our fight was against core al- Qaeda and that that group was on the path to defeat. In reality, the Jihadist threat had metastasized. The second leadership failure was the President's decision to dismantle America's counterterrorism policies and return to a pre- 9/11 law enforcement posture. The President tried to close Guantanamo Bay and release hardened terrorists, sought to give terrorists the same legal protections as U.S. citizens, negotiated and swapped hostages with terrorists, and failed to prevent the rise of ISIS and the emergence of al-Qaeda sanctuaries.