American elites take a perverse view of what ISIS is really after.
"Playing into the hands of ISIS" is the new Beltway mantra. The finger-shaking by the administration and its supporters warns Americans not to give in to their supposedly natural biases against Muslims.
Never mind that FBI statistics show that Jews in this country are the objects of hate crimes at nearly four times the rate of Muslims. It is mysteriously never reported who are the main perpetrators of hate crimes against Jews. In any case, when the administration alleges Islamophobia, it assumes that if it did not, ISIS might announce to Muslims worldwide, "We told you so," to confirm its suspicions of American prejudices toward Islam.
But according to Obama's own logic, his constant suggestions that Americans are prejudiced against Islam would themselves strengthen ISIS by providing them a rationale or justification for their anti-American terrorism. Would they not think, "If President Obama himself is constantly worried that his own people are anti-Muslim, then surely they must be - even though statistics do not support that charge"?
Or are we to think that ISIS reasons along the following lines: "Even after 9/11, Americans let in hundreds of thousands of Muslims, and yet hate crimes against them are far rarer than against Jews. Therefore Americans are our friends, and we will refrain from attacking them"?
When the president pontificates on the evils of Guantánamo Bay, rather than worries over the subsequent careers of terrorists who were released from the detention facility, does that encourage or discourage ISIS?
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
