In his multiple Sunday talk show appearances this week, Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson echoed the defenders of the Obama administration’s refusal to use terms like “radical Islamism” to refer to the likes of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Johnson argued that a debate over what to call ISIS is not as important as how the United States responds to the terrorist organization’s threats to the country and its allies.
“Whether it’s referred to as Islamic extremism or violent extremism, what it comes down to is ISIL is a terrorist organization that represents a serious potential threat to our homeland, which has to be addressed,” Johnson said on Fox News Sunday. “I’m more concerned about that frankly than I am about what two words we use to refer to them.”
