On Monday night on The O’Reilly Factor, Charles Krauthammer discussed with Bill O’Reilly the growing rhetoric of the White House and its attempt to downplay or diminish the threat that Radical Islam is on the world. Shortly after a clip of President Obama criticizing the media for conflating ISIS’s power, Krauthammer opened up on the President.
He hit the bottom of the barrel. I mean, he is so exposed, so naked on the world stage. His strategy is so recognized everywhere left and right, Democrat, Republican, as a bankrupt one. He is seen as so weak, so inviting this kind of attack on the West, that what's he got left to say, to pretend we are winning the war?
Earlier, Krauthammer and O’Reilly had discussed the attempt by the administration to either naively or sinisterly cover up ISIS’ influence and threat.
BILL O’REILLY: Now do you understand this diminishing of the Muslim threat thing? I never have understood this and I think most of the folks don't understand it as well. What is this all about?
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: Well look, there is the benign situation particularly when you apply it to the President and Hillary Clinton. And then there is not the so benign one. The benign one is they don't want to it antagonize Muslims by using the word Islam. It's idiotic. I mean there’s no reason if you say radical Islam. Remember the Democratic debates, they were all asked, is this Radical Islam. And they all said we are not at war with Islam. We are not at war with all Muslims. When that's not the question. This is obviously a strain of Islam. We're at war in the West and we ought to recognize.
Krauthammer on the second form of washing away ISIS as Islamic he described as “the not-so benign one.” Krauthammer would later mark this as the “Blame America First” Democrat.
Remember what Kerry said just last week. He said, you know, I don't really understand the shooting in Paris, but, you know, you can get your arms around. You can understand the legitimacy or the rationale of the shooting up of Charlie Hebdo, meaning if you draw a cartoon that some Muslims are offended by, you know, the rationale, the legitimacy is you go out and shoot people in a room.
See the relevant transcript below.
2015-11-23-Fox News The O’Reilly Factor
BILL O’REILLY: Now do you understand this diminishing of the Muslim threat thing? I never have understood this and I think most of the folks don't understand it as well. What is this all about?
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: Well look, there is the benign situation particularly when you apply it to the President and Hillary Clinton. And then there is the not-so benign one. The benign one is they don't want to it antagonize Muslims by using the word Islam. It's idiotic. I mean there’s no reason if you say radical Islam. Remember the Democratic debates, they were all asked, is this Radical Islam. And they all said we are not at war with Islam. We are not at war with all Muslims. When that's not the question. This is obviously a strain of Islam. We're at war in the West and we ought to recognize.
But let's say the most benign explanation, not a credible one but benign is I don't want the Muslims in the world to think that we’re anti-Islamic. The explanation that I think is a lot more troubling, is that in some way, they think that we in the West, the people that avoid the use of Islam, that we had it coming. Remember what Kerry said just last week. He said, you know, I don't really understand the shooting in Paris, but, you know, you can get your arms around. You can understand the legitimacy or the rationale of the shooting up of Charlie Hebdo, meaning if you draw a cartoon that some Muslims are offended by, you know, the rationale, the legitimacy is you go out and shoot people in a room. This, I think, stems from what Gene Kirkpatrick called in 1984 the blame America first Democrat.
O’REILLY: We saw that in the Benghazi attack when they wanted to blamed the video on inciting the riots and all of that. And I do believe it is a strain of anti-Americanism from the Noam Chomsky School, the far, far-left school that, hey, now it's our turn. It's the chickens come home to roost, reverend Wright school. And that's an interesting point. But, President Obama, he is now, instead of just looking weak on ISIS, he is now blaming the press, roll the tape.
BARACK OBAMA: One of the things that has to happen is how we report on this, has to maintain perspective and not, you know, empower in any way these terrorist organizations or elevate them in ways that make it easier for them to recruit or make them stronger.
O’REILLY: So, therefore, we should just play down these stories. Really, come on. What do you say?
KRAUTHAMMER: He hit the bottom of the barrel. I mean, he is so exposed, so naked on the world stage. His strategy is so recognized everywhere left and right, Democrat, Republican, as a bankrupt one. He is seen as so weak, so inviting this kind of attack on the West, that what's he got left to say to pretend we are winning the war? Of course we are not. Even Leon Panetta his own Secretary of Defense is saying that even Dianne Feinstein the leading Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, they all know. Everybody knows so what's he got to say all he can say is the press is playing it up too much. As if you can play up too much the murder of 130 innocent people in six different venues in the heart of a European capitol. As if you can explain away by blaming the press attacks all over the world in Mali, in Beirut, in Paris. Look at the panic, Brussels is now shut down.
O’REILLY: I know.
KRAUTHAMMER: Just by the threat. What can he say? He has been in charge for seven years.
O’REILLY: You can't overdo the reportage, Charles. We’re empowering ISIS if we do that.
