The State Department refuses to acknowledge it. Pakistan denies it. The Taliban proclaim it.

The Pakistan Taliban carried out a suicide bombing that killed dozens on Easter Sunday in an area of Lahore crowded with celebrating Christians. Most of the dead, including many children, were Christians. The United States Department of State condemned the attacks, but made no mention of the fact that they targeted Christians.

“The United States condemns in the strongest terms today’s appalling terrorist attacks in Lehore, Pakistan,” the statement read. “This cowardly act, which targeted innocent civilians in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, has killed dozens and left scored injured. The United States stands with the people and government of Pakistan at this difficult hour. We send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, and our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Lahore as they respond to and recover from this terrible tragedy.”

‘Standing with the government of Pakistan’ implies denying that Christians were the target. Pakistani police are denying outright that Christians were the target of the attacks. “Christians were not the specific target in the blast. It was not the park meant for Christians only. It was for all Pakistanis. Today was Easter Day and a holiday. People visited public parks in large numbers,” police official Muhammad Usman told the media.

The Pakistani Taliban, who carried out the attack, firmly disagree with this assessment. In a statement claiming full responsibility for the attack, the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Pakistani Taliban proclaimed that their target was Christian celebrants. Christians make up a tiny two percent of Pakistan’s population, but are regularly features of murderous attacks. This attack was the worst hit on Pakistani Christians since 2013, when 75 were killed in a suicide bombing at a church.

This is not the first time that the American State Department has had trouble acknowledging the murder of Christians as a motivating factor of an Islamic jihad. Just last week US Secretary of State John F. Kerry was forced to acknowledge the genocide against Christians being carried out by ISIS following a unanimous Congressional vote proclaiming it. Even then, Kerry expressed the claim as his personal opinion and deferred a final judgment to “a competent court or tribunal.” It is not clear what court or tribunal has the authority to render judgments in the lawless region of eastern Syria and Western Iraq in which ISIS is conducting its genocide.

America ought to be leading the world in a response against these enemies of our civilization. Instead, it is unable even to speak clearly about the threat we face. Until that changes, there is no hope of victory.