America will not win the war against radical Islam until President Barack Obama admits the fight has religious underpinnings, Sen. Lindsey Graham says.
"We are in a religious war with radical Islamists who have embraced a religious doctrine that requires them to be compelled by God to purify their religion to kill all moderate Muslims or people who don't agree with them within the faith, and to destroy every other religion," the South Carolina Republican said Wednesday on Fox News Channel's
"On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.".
The doctrine to "convert or kill" is not embraced by moderate Muslims, Graham said, but added that the Obama administration is ignoring facts by refusing to label terrorists as radical Islamists.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Tuesday said the administration does not use the term "Islamic" to describe the terrorists because they do not want to legitimize their claim to be true Islam.
Graham told Van Susteren that the battle is religion-based and not based on U.S. foreign policy.
"This radical strain of Islam is compelling them to kill us because we don't embrace their view of religion. It has nothing to do with our support for Israel, it has nothing to do regarding our foreign policy," he said. "It has nothing to do with our intervention in Iraq like a Democratic United States senator suggested that the people in Paris were radicalized because our invasion of Iraq. People who think that are missing the big picture here."
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