Gaffney's Great Expectations

Frank Gaffney applauds Senator Joe Lieberman for criticising the excision of the phrase "Islamic extremism" (and other "controversial" lingo) from government discourse. However, Frank wishes Joe would go even further:

Senator Lieberman is, of course, absolutely right that we have no chance of defeating the enemy unless we can properly identify him. The senator deserves our heartfelt thanks for calling out the Obama administration for adamantly and repeatedly refusing to do that — and, thereby, for increasing dramatically the danger we face from such foes.

That said, it would be desirable if the distinguished senator from Connecticut, who chairs the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, would refrain from characterizing the enemy as “Islamic extremists,” as a way of disassociating them from the many millions of Muslims, at home and abroad, who are not determined to destroy us. Our foes are most accurately depicted as adherents to Shariah — the virulently intolerant, supremacist, and totalitarian ideology of authoritative Islam — not as “extremists” who are somehow, in the preferred formulation of Mr. Brennan, “hijacking” the religion of peace.

Alas, in our current environment, calling it "Islamic extremism" is about as "out there" as you can get. We have become so accustomed to the soft pedal, to the euphemism, that were the Senator to offer further clarification, he would be slammed as the "extremist". And as brave as he has been, one has the sense that Lieberman has no desire to become the American Geert Wilders.