Boozman: Obama won’t ‘talk about the problem’ of Islamist terror

Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) on Thursday said President Obama has been silent on religious persecution perpetrated by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“If we don’t identify or talk about the problem, we can’t solve it,” Boozman said in a statement. “We need to encourage the same religious tolerance we embrace at home to be the norm around the globe, even if doing so at times requires us to call out acts of oppression committed by those who have twisted religion to fit their own radical agenda.”

Boozman said Obama would not directly acknowledge the religious motivation behind ISIS atrocities. He cited last month’s beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya as a prime example.

{mosads}“The administration refuses to state the underlying reason this massacre happened, namely the ongoing, systematic religious persecution of Christians and Jews by the Islamic State group,” Boozman said.

ISIS released a video showing its execution of the 21 Coptic Christians on Feb. 15. Egypt responded with airstrikes on the group in Libya the next day.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the attack “despicable” and “cowardly” after the release of its footage on Feb. 15.

“ISIL’s barbarity knows no bounds,” Earnest added, using the Obama administration’s preferred acronym for the terrorist group. “It is unconstrained by faith, sect or ethnicity.”

Boozman on Thursday said the White House should clearly denounce the “twisted view” of Islam fueling ISIS.

“The U.S. needs to be clear and resilient in our commitment to destroy ISIS,” he said. “There would be no religious freedom under ISIS rule. These terrorists are devoted to establishing a new Caliphate, ruled by Sharia law, where all would be forced to convert or die. They are committed to destroying all who stand in their way.”