From the Weekly Standard:

In the wake of the Arab Spring, the Obama administration is grappling with how to handle Islamists, radical adherents to Islam. Particularly, the issue has come to the fore in regards to Egypt, which, as Reuel Marc Gerecht notes, "is now certain" to elect "an Islamist" as its leaders the next time the Egyptian people go to the polls.

But some in the Obama administration are now seeing things differently.

"The war on terror is over," a senior official in the State Department official tells the National Journal. "Now that we have killed most of al Qaida, now that people have come to see legitimate means of expression, people who once might have gone into al Qaida see an opportunity for a legitimate Islamism."

This new outlook has, in the words of the National Journal, come from a belief among administration officials that "It is no longer the case, in other words, that every Islamist is seen as a potential accessory to terrorists."

Response: Really? I wonder if anyone told the terrorists? Does that mean we can call off the TSA airport inspections? Right. Actually nothing has really changed except this administration has decided to define ‘Islamic terrorism’ out of existence and call them criminals instead.

The Obama administration from the very beginning shifted away from the Bush terrorist dictum that Islamists who sympathize with the terrorists are also enemies in a ‘War on Terror’. Now following last years Arab Spring, the new reality is that nearly the entire Middle East is getting more radical as Islamists gain the reins of power in Libya, Tunisia, and soon Egypt.

The President has made what he feels is a judicious decision to cooperate with the new leaders rather than oppose the new Islamist regimes. In many ways it can be said that the USA actually contributed to the downfall of the previous long time leaders by the naïve reaction of the Obama administration last year to the ‘Arab Spring’ and the false hope that it was really all about establishing Western style democracy. It wasn’t.

Soon the entire Middle East could be ruled by Islamists supporting the establishment of sharia law and the possible reemergence of an Islamic Caliphate. Fortunately they will probably have a hard time coming to any kind of agreement on a new Caliph and a capitol.

My concern with what is happening in the Middle East revolves around the current escalation of persecution of Christians and the destruction of churches. As the Middle East gets more radical, the environment for minority religions like Christianity becomes even more problematic.

It is quickly changing even in places like Turkey, Syria, and Egypt where Christians were treated well for many generations. Then there’s the example of Iraq where nearly half a million Christians have left the country because of Islamist persecution only to find themselves in difficult situations in their new homelands. Especially the hundred thousand or so who moved to Syria.

The Obama administration is now calling off the war on terror and unfortunately displaying a naivety and weakness that will eventually be taken advantage of in the future. At the very least, if the situation continues to get worse for Christians, one can expect that the new leaders will pay very little attention to any Obama administration protests.             *Top

>>>Don't Miss an Update!**CLICK NOW**Get ANSWERS For The Faith by email<<<