Ingraham's suggestion that Obama didn't identify Al Qaeda as “the real threat” undermined by Obama's comments

Written by Tom Allison

Published

Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham claimed that “the number one thing [President Obama's] not doing” to fight terrorism “is identifying what the real threat is” and that in his last weekly radio address, Obama cited “a war against violence and hatred,” strongly suggesting that Obama has not addressed the threat posed by Al Qaeda. But in the radio address Ingraham cited, Obama repeatedly referred to Al Qaeda as a target of America's efforts abroad, and Obama has repeatedly used the phrase “war on terror.”

Ingraham suggests Obama ignored Al Qaeda in response to failed terrorist attack

Ingraham: In his radio address, Obama “said this was a war against violence and hatred.” From the January 7 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

INGRAHAM: The number one thing he's not doing, of course, is identifying what the real threat is. He renamed the war on terror, “overseas contingency operations.” Janet Napolitano, remember, said that she didn't like calling it the war on terror. She'd prefer to call it manmade disasters, which was disastrous for her to say that. And then, in the radio address on Saturday, Bill, he said this is a war against violence and hatred. Now, first of all, what does that even mean -- a war against violence and hatred? There's a lot of violence in our own country and there's a lot of hatred in our own country. But we're not at war with that. We're at war with a particular type of enemy that frankly is goal-oriented, and their goal is to establish a global Islamic caliphate.

BILL O'REILLY (host): OK, but he did say that today, he did say that, you know, we're at war with Al Qaeda.

INGRAHAM: No, not really.

O'REILLY: And we're going to do whatever it takes to defeat Al Qaeda. Now, I don't believe that for a second.

Obama repeatedly referred to Al Qaeda in radio address. In the radio address Ingraham referred to, Obama cited his inauguration and stated: “I also made it very clear -- our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred, and that we will do whatever it takes to defeat them and defend our country, even as we uphold the values that have always distinguished America among nations.” Obama continued:

And make no mistake, that's exactly what we've been doing. It's why I refocused the fight -- bringing to a responsible end the war in Iraq, which had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks, and dramatically increasing our resources in the region where al Qaeda is actually based, in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's why I've set a clear and achievable mission -- to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda and its extremist allies and prevent their return to either country.

Obama also stated that alleged terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab “joined an affiliate of al Qaeda, and that this group -- al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America.” [Presidential Weekly Address, 1/2/10]

Ingraham disagrees with O'Reilly that Obama said “we're at war with Al Qaeda”

Ingraham: Obama did “not really” say “we're at war with Al Qaeda.” After O'Reilly stated: “OK, but he did say that today, he did say that, you know, we're at war with Al Qaeda,” Ingraham falsely claimed: “No, not really.”

Obama: “We are at war against al Qaeda.” During his January 7 remarks about the attempted bombing, “Obama stated: ”We are at war. We are at war against al Qaeda, a far-reaching network of violence and hatred that attacked us on 9/11, that killed nearly 3,000 innocent people, and that is plotting to strike us again. And we will do whatever it takes to defeat them." [Whitehouse.gov, 1/7/10]