Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said Sunday that Hillary Rodham Clinton’s refusal to agree that the United States is at war with radical Islam would be “like saying we were not at war with the Nazis because we were afraid to offend some Germans.”
“I don’t understand it,” Mr. Rubio said on ABC’s “This Week,” referring to the former secretary of state’s remarks during Saturday’s Democratic presidential candidates debate.
“That would be like saying we were not at war with Nazis because we were afraid to offend some Germans who may have been members of the Nazi Party but weren’t violent themselves,” said Mr. Rubio, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
The Florida Republican said Middle East terrorist groups like Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for Friday’s terrorist attacks on Paris that left at least 129 dead, are motivated by their religious beliefs, not geopolitics.
“We are at war with radical Islam, with an interpretation of Islam by a significant number of people around the world who they believe now justifies them in killing those who don’t agree with their ideology,” he said.
Mrs. Clinton said during the debate that “I don’t think we’re at war with Islam. I don’t think we’re at war with all Muslims. I think we’re at war with jihadists. We are at war with violent extremism. We are at war with people who use their religion for purposes of power and oppression.”
Mr. Rubio responded that, “Of course all Muslims are not members of violent jihadist groups.”
“But there is a global jihadist movement in the world motivated by their interpretation of Islam, in this case Sunni Islam, in the case of ISIS, and it needs to be confronted for what it is,” Mr. Rubio said, using an acronym for the Islamic State.
Mrs. Clinton said she did not want to “paint with too broad a brush,” but Mr. Rubio insisted, “This is a clash of civilizations.”
“And as I said at the [Republican] debate earlier this week, there is no middle ground on this. Either they win or they win,” he said. “And we need to begin to take this seriously.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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