“Yet to defeat an enemy, you first must admit they exist, and this we have not done.”

The words of Former Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn invariably resonates in my head on almost any occasion President Obama decides to pull one of his foolish acts, which I have resorted to calling “Obamas.” If only the Commander-in-Chief thought the same.

Speaking at the National Press Club on Feb.17, Attorney General Eric Holder lashed out at Fox News for fixating a good amount of its coverage on the President’s inability of properly labeling ISIS as Islamic, specifically radical Islam. He said: “We spend more time, more time talking about what you call it, as opposed to what do you do about it, you know? I mean really. If Fox didn’t talk about this, they would have nothing else to talk about, it seems to me.”

I clearly understand where Holder is coming from. The fact that most levelheaded people would search for viable solutions when placed in a sticky situation is a given. However, I find it absolutely pathetic that Holder is the one voicing such things (once again, wholly missing the target) when frankly, the Obama administration only recycles its talking points over and over again to the point where the American people need an explanation for them.

The future looks bleak with a president who refuses to do something as simple as to recognize that the Islamic State is, well, Islamic. Albeit the stated goal of the Islamic militants is to establish a caliphate in the Middle East, President Obama repeatedly asserts that the organization is not affiliated with Islam. Instead, in his speech at his summit on countering violent extremism, Obama stated, “Islam has been woven into the fabric of our country since its founding.” Purely delusional.

The enemy must be identified. No strategy will fall into place if we do not identify the enemy—an Islamist ideology that “promotes the slaughter of innocent people to support a radical agenda.” I am in no way tying in the entire Muslim population with this ideology; the vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving. Nevertheless, we must be clear that ISIS is perpetrating heinous acts in the name of Allah.

Via an article published on Politico Magazine, Flynn stressed that it would be “foolish for us to wait until [ISIS] poses an existential threat before taking decisive action,” directly crossing swords with National Security Adviser Susan Rice who stated otherwise in a speech at the Brookings Institute. After contending that ISIS is “not of the existential nature of what we confronted during World War II or during the Cold War,” Rice went on to offer a bit of advice, saying: “We cannot afford to be buffeted by alarmism and a nearly instantaneous new cycle.”

The Obama administration simply cannot continue on with its Goldilocks approach to the imminent crisis. The disengaging foreign policy led by the administration is threatening the security of international citizens all around the globe. Airstrikes are not enough. America has to apply national power by empowering its every component and setting them in sync. The very seed of Islamic extremism must be completely eradicated. There is no easy way out of this fight. Condone, or condemn. Nothing else in between.

In fact, the rise of ISIS is the by-product of a lack of a formidable American presence in the Middle East. This powerful group stemmed from al-Qaeda, which made a comeback after the premature withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011. Boots must be set on the ground once more. The September morning when the United States, the once-impregnable fortress, shattered, must never recur.
As the leader of the free world, President Obama must condemn Islamic extremism and do everything it takes to protect the safety of its people. After all, “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”