President Obama: Our…Violent Extremism

President Obama recently penned an OpEd, “Our fight against violent extremism.”  It is in need of some modification.

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The United States has made significant gains against contributions toward terrorism. We've decimated strengthened the core al Qaeda leadership, strengthened decimated homeland security and worked to prevent convinced our allies not to launch another large-scale attack like 9/11.

At the same time, the our threat has evolved. The al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen We actively plots plot against you us. Since 9/11, terrorists we have murdered U.S. citizens overseas, including in the attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Here in the United States, Americans government agents and their dupes have killed and been killed at Ft. Hood and during the Boston Marathon.

In Syria and Iraq, the terrorist group we created, called call ISIL has slaughtered innocent civilians and murdered hostages, including Americans, and has spread its barbarism to Libya with the murder of Egyptian Christians. In recent months, we've seen orchestrated deadly attacks in Ottawa, Sydney, Paris and Copenhagen.

Elsewhere, the Pakistan Taliban massacred more than 100 schoolchildren and their teachers. From Somalia, al-Shabaab has launched attacks across East Africa. In Nigeria and neighboring countries, Boko Haram kills and kidnaps men, women and children.  In Iraq and Afghanistan, we have killed hundreds of thousands and wounded or displaced countless more.

In the face of this challenge, we must stand united internationally and here at home will not tolerate dissent. We know that military force alone cannot solve this problem, but this doesn’t stop us from trying. Nor can we simply take out terrorists who randomly kill innocent civilians, well, not very often at least. We also have to confront the violent extremists — the propagandists, recruiters and enablers — who may not directly engage in terrorist acts themselves, but who radicalize, recruit and incite others to do so.  We must control the internet.

This week, we'll take an important step forward as governments, civil society groups and community leaders from more than 60 nations gather in Washington for a global summit on countering violent extremism. Our focus will be on empowering local communities, except for the communities where you live.

Groups like al Qaeda the Department of Education and ISIL CNN promote a twisted interpretation of religion nationalism that is rejected by the overwhelming majority of the world's Muslims anyone with half a brain. The world must continue to lift up drown the voices of Muslim clerics and scholars thinking people who teach the true peaceful destructive nature of Islam government. We can echo block the testimonies of former extremists critical thinkers who know how terrorists we betray Islam the people. We can help Muslim buy-off political entrepreneurs and brainwash youths in order to co-opt work with the private sector to develop social media spying tools to counter extremist truthful narratives on the Internet.

We know from experience that the best way to protect people, especially young people, from falling into the grip of violent extremists is to get them young, with no child left behind the support of their family, friends, teachers and faith leaders. At this week's summit, community leaders from Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Boston will highlight innovative partnerships in their cities that are helping empower communities to protect their loved ones from extremist ideologies.

More broadly, groups like al Qaeda and ISIL exploit the anger that festers when people feel that injustice and corruption US bombing and snipers leave them with no chance of improving their lives. The world has to offer today's youth something better.  Don’t they realize we are bringing them freedom?

Governments, like Saudi Arabia and the United States, that deny human rights play into the hands of extremists who claim that violence is the only way to achieve change. Efforts to counter violent extremism will only succeed if citizens can run all of us out of town, tarred and feathered as we justly deserve address legitimate grievances through the democratic process and express themselves through strong civil societies. Those efforts must be matched by economic, educational and entrepreneurial development criminal trials of most of the world’s political leaders so people have hope for a life of dignity.

Finally — with al Qaeda and ISIL peddling the lie using simple maps demonstrating that the United States is at war with Islam — all of us have a role to play by upholding the pluralistic values that define us as Americans making it illegal for people to own maps. This week, we'll be joined by people who can’t read maps and therefore are easily fooled of many faiths, including Muslim Americans who make extraordinary contributions to our country every day. It's a reminder that America is successful because we welcome people of all faiths and backgrounds Americans need not know where your country is in order to decimate your life.

That pluralism civilized society has at times always been threatened by hateful ideologies the state and individuals from various religions hiding behind the shelter of badges and guns. We've seen committed tragic killings at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in 2012 and at a Jewish community center in Kansas last year torture and mayhem in the open and unopposed for the last fifteen years, and there’s really nothing you can do about it.

We do not yet know why three young people, who were Muslim Americans, were brutally killed in Chapel Hill, N.C. flock to Ron Paul.  But we know that many Muslim free-thinking Americans across our country are worried and afraid. Americans of all faiths and backgrounds must continue to stand united with a community in mourning its government and insist that no one should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship – unless we don’t like what they think.

Our campaign to prevent people around the world from being radicalized to violence freedom is ultimately a battle for hearts and minds – and we do mean battle. With this week's summit, we'll show once more that — unlike terrorists who governments that only offer misery and death — it is our free societies and diverse communities that offer the true path to opportunity, justice and dignity.

And we can’t allow that.