Comedian Jon Stewart ripped into President Obama during his recent “Daily Show,” calling into question the commander-in-chief’s discombobulated approach to dealing with Islamic State terrorists.
Mr. Stewart played several clips showing the changing narrative from the White House over Islamic State policy, beginning with National Security Adviser Susan Rice’s press remarks: “Well, I don’t know if you want to call it a war or a sustained counter-terrorism campaign,” Mediaite reported.
Mr. Stewart’s response: “It’s not a war? … It seems like a war with all the coalitions talking to the nation on television and the — all right. … A high-ranking Obama official says it’s not a war.”
He then played a clip of Rear Adm. John Kirby, the press secretary for the Pentagon, declaring that “we are at war with ISIL, in the same way we continue to be at war with al Qaeda,” the video posted on Mediaite showed.
Mr. Stewart then said: “OK, it sounds better — war. Imagine if George Lucas had called his movie ’Star Sustained Counter-Terrorism Campaigns,’ ” Mediaite reported. “It sounds like the Obama administration is a little confused over our current situation, vis a vis whether it’s a war or not. … Here’s how confused they are. You can get both points from one guy.”
He then showed separate statements Secretary of State John Kerry made within a 48-hour period, first in direct response to a reporter’s direct question of whether the United States was at war with the Islamic State or not.
“We’re engaged in a major counter-terrorism operation,” Mr. Kerry said, the video posted by Mediaite showed. “And it’s going to be a long-term, counter-terrorism operation.”
Just 48 hours later, Mr. Kerry said this: “We’re at war with al Qaeda and its affiliates and in the same context if you want to use it, yes, we’re at war with ISIL in that sense,” the video showed.
But as Mr. Stewart said, the terminology is important.
“There are legal ramifications to this. How we define the conflict will inform who has the authority to address the threat from ISIL,” he said.
He wrapped with a joking contrast between the former George W. Bush administration and the present one.
“The Bush administration was incredibly disciplined and focused when it came time to doing the wrong thing,” Mr. Stewart said. “The Obama administration would like us to do the right thing in as chaotic and confused way as possible.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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