While President Obama was calmly suggesting on Wednesday that jobs are the answer for the terrorists who would decapitate and burn alive hostages in the name of the Prophet, the Islamic State was adding the North African country of Libya to the countries it is seeking to conquer.
Only 400 miles from the southern shore of Italy, the Islamic State group had secured control of two Libyan cities on the Mediterranean coast, was infiltrating the country’s two largest cities and was on the move toward its oil facilities. Only days ago, it slaughtered 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians there.
Back in Washington, D.C., Obama told the “Countering Violent Extremism” summit that the economic grievances terrorists exploit have to be addressed, that Muslim-Americans have legitimate concerns about law enforcement and shouldn’t be profiled because of their faith, and that “hatred and bigotry and prejudice have no place in our country.”
Meanwhile, in an upset, Italy and France said they favor international action against the Islamic State in Libya, and Egypt — perhaps thinking it is the next target — is suggesting a United Nations-backed coalition air campaign.
Obama, sensing the mounting crisis, did break his silence on using the words “Islam” and “terrorists” in the same paragraph.