BILL HEMMER (HOST): [President Obama] addressed guns and labels in the fight. Did he address the strategy for eradicating the killers?
RALPH PETERS: No, because he doesn't have one. Bill, I wish President Obama would spend more energy protecting Americans and a little bit less defending Islam. His claim was absolutely dishonest and disingenuous. The idea that the words wouldn't make a positive difference. Indeed, using the correct terminology: “jihad,” “Islamist fanaticism,” “radical Islam.” And words like “takfir” and others that apply. That has legal implications. It has strategic implications, in fact. It has military implications. It has no end of important meanings. But let me turn it around, I'm glad to talk about specifically what difference it would make to call it what it is. But let's --
HEMMER: But if Josh Earnest were sitting here, and he made this case two days ago at the White House. He said that they want to carry the mantle of this religion, and we are not going to allow them, afford them the opportunity to use that phrase. Now does that matter?
PETERS: Well it's absolute nonsense to say something like that. Let's turn it around. We have censored our law enforcement agencies. We have censored the Pentagon and our military. They can't teach certain things. They can't teach the history of jihad honestly. They can't use these terms. The FBI is restricted from using certain terms. I would ask Mr. President, how does that help us? But beyond that, we have made nice for not only since Obama came to office but all the way back to 2001. The Bush administration was reluctant to use terms like “Islamist terrorism,” “jihad.” So for 15 years we have avoided calling this phenomenon what it is, and I would ask the president how has that helped? Are there fewer jihadis now? Are there fewer terror attacks? On the contrary. We've projected weakness, and there are, where there were a few thousand jihadis, there are now hundreds of thousands and tens of millions of sympathizers --
HEMMER: No question.
PETERS: And we've got to stop saying that this isn't Islam. If we have no -- Jews and Christians have no authority to say what is and isn't Islam. Muslims have that authority, and hundreds of millions of Muslims believe that this is at least one part of Islam.
