What Will It Take?

I fear for what it will take to wake up the United States and our allies to the incredibly vast danger of Islamic terrorism. As I write this, just hours ago Islamists brandishing Kalashnikovs rifles stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo; a Paris, France based weekly magazine publication. 12 people are reported dead, many others wounded.

Islamic terrorists have carried out the deadliest attack inside France in over two decades. Innocents gunned down, families forever devastated and France shaken to its foundation because the media outlet published a cartoonish picture of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The same magazine offices were firebombed in 2011 for publishing a satirical cartoon of Prophet Mohammed. Charlie Hebdo satirically depicts public leaders, politicians and religious groups similar in style to America’s “Onion” and “Mad Magazine.” They are an equal opportunity offender.

But in this upside-down world, where if you are right you are really wrong, integrity is boring and everybody else is a racist, the culprits of this murderous atrocity will not be at the top of the blame game by Western leaders and media – and that is the problem.

I predict CNN and MSNBC will defer the use of “Islamic” or “Muslim” to describe the perpetrators of this horror. “Gunmen” will be good enough. Our cheeky redheaded State Department spokeswoman will reference a “violent act” rather than the “Islamic terrorist attack.” Then from her prepared statement, she will read the same tired diatribe about lone wolves and most Muslims are peaceful and so on and so forth. I expect this horrific premediated murder could again fall under the heading “workplace violence” as the White House depicted the Ft. Hood massacre perpetrated by yet another Islamist screaming “Allahu Akbar” as he murdered 13 people. Will we hear a pundit ask why Islamist murderers are singled out as “extremists” when others who kill in the name of a religion are not? What “others”? And might a large city’s liberal morning radio host refer to the terrorists as mere “cowards”? They are anything but cowards. And, how about the idiocy and incompetence of Hillary Rodham Clinton recently stating we should have more “empathy” for our enemies? Shudder to think, she could be the next President of the United States packing four to eight more years of vacuous Oval Office leadership.

And here is where the problem lies. The failure to recognize an enemy by name and rationalizing their atrocities is directly attributable to Western society’s disastrous obsession with political correctness. We did not refer to the Nazis as a small number of extremists whom the good German people should condemn. Islamists are attacking our freedoms, including our freedom of speech. Our media and government leaders capitulate in the face of this threat and so the terrorists win.

France embraced Muslim immigration, which now represents 20% of its population. Most have no interest in assimilating into French society. As their numbers and influence increased over the years, they demanded the French accommodate them and accept Sharia over French law in heavily populated Muslim areas. In 2015, that country is paying a terrible price for its capitulation.

In addition to today’s terror attack, anti-Semitism has reared its ugly head across France with much of it stemming from the Muslim communities. Violence, threats and government inaction have motivated many Jews to leave France. A mere seven decades since WWII and again France cannot protect its Jewish citizens. Over 20,000 have recently immigrated to Israel as France loses some of its most talented, loyal and successful citizenry, directly stemmed by those draining their capital and culture.

Did we learn anything from “9/11” and the murder of 3000 Americans and far too numerous worldwide terror attacks to list here? Are we beginning to understand terror grows and strengthens with appeasement and capitulation?

Considering our current leadership, it’s doubtful.

William Pollack is a Memphis, TN based owner of radio, television and movie theaters and freelance opinion writer.