As any general or football player knows, blurting out your strategy is, well … just plain stupid. And so our strategist-in-chief won’t do that. And I shouldn’t either, but he needs help with those demanding that he blurt — call ’em the Blurters. In a nutshell, Obama doesn’t want to go it alone against ISIS, he wants help from Muslims. This is best for America. By a lot. But if he caved in  to the Blurters, … well, that’s exactly what ISIS needs and wants.

Right-wing Blurters (not the more sensible right) want him to say that ISIS is part of Islam. Of course that’s true. But what happens if Obama says that? I suppose they think ISIS would shrivel like the Wicked Witch of the West. But think about it.

1. ISIS does all it can to convince the world it’s part of Islam.
2. That’s how they recruit.
3. That’s why most Jordanians held back until ISIS burned their hero.
4. The US has been working hard to get Islamic leaders to say ISIS is not Muslim.
   • They are finally having some success.
   • Everyone on all sides (even ISIS) agrees this hurts ISIS.
5. Saying ISIS is Muslim is a poke in the eye to moderate American Muslims (you may not think so, but they say that loud and clear), who are extremely anti-ISIS.
6. It would make it harder to get any of our Muslim allies (Jordan, Turkey, Saudis, etc.) to participate, because their populations do not want to join the US in fighting Muslims.

All of these points are completely obvious, yet the Blurters never mention any of them. Are they really that ignorant?

Why Do Muslims Deny ISIS Is Muslim?

Point 5 is a bit puzzling. Since ISIS is so obviously Muslim, why would saying the obvious offend moderate Muslims? It’s not logical, so let me explain by example. If you tell a Christian that some Christians torture innocent people in the name of Christianity, they will likely object and say, “Those are not Christians. Real Christians don’t do that.” And they have a point. But still that is what the Catholic church did during the Spanish Inquisition. And it’s even harder to deny that the entire Catholic establishment in Spain was not Christian than it is to deny that the ISIS rabble is Muslim.

And so the Muslims who say ISIS is not Muslim have a point, the same point as the Christians who say Spanish Inquisitors were not Christian.

In a literal sense, both are wrong, but in a emotional sense, both have a point. You can argue the point based on all kinds of church history and documents, but where does that get you? Better to use the Muslim rejection of ISIS to defeat ISIS. That’s what Obama is doing. And it’s good for America. We don’t need a third Iraq war.