Rudy Giuliani

Last weekend, America once again experienced attacks upon our shores. The resilient people of New Jersey and New York became the intended targets of hate-fueled terror. The 29 New Yorkers wounded by a bomb and the two New Jersey police officers shot by the alleged terrorist were innocent bystanders struck by radical Islamic terrorism.

President Obama and Hillary Clinton did not react as if these Americans were victims of terror, though. They have invested too much time and energy into the narrative that there is no ongoing War on Terror. Look no further than their reactions Saturday: Clinton’s comments came across as if nothing of real consequence occurred, while Obama was once again missing in action.

How many Americans must die at the hands of radical Islamic terrorism before we strike back with our full military might abroad and with a better coordinated preventive law enforcement strategy at home? After the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush kept the homeland safe for the rest of his presidency by striking back decisively.

Obama and Clinton continue to ignore the reality that a worldwide terror campaign is being deliberately executed by the very people they refuse to define: radical Islamic terrorists. This refusal is the cornerstone in creating a tyranny of political correctness that encourages people to be reluctant in identifying suspicious activity such as the training at a gun range that took place before the horrific San Bernardino attack.

Obama and Clinton's gut reaction is to tell the American people that we’re defeating the Islamic State terrorist group abroad while systematically downplaying connections between radical Islam and attackers in the United States and Europe. No leader can achieve victory against an enemy by pretending he does not exist.

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Radical Islamic terrorists are engaged in a two-front war. The first is a fight for territory in the Middle East and Africa. The second front is guerrilla warfare against civilian targets in nations that oppose radical Islamic ideology. Recruiting and radicalizing residents of the United States and Europe is central to their strategy.

When terrorists are revealed as part of the second front of the radical Islamic terror war, Obama and Clinton call them "lone wolves" and describe their actions as crimes rather than acts of terror or even war. Their Orwellian fantasy extends to the point where they actually believe they are winning.

We have been here before: Osama bin Laden declared war on the United States. In 1993, radical Islamists bombed the World Trade Center. In 2000, they attacked the USS Cole, killing 17 American sailors.

The administration didn’t take the threat seriously enough to bring down bin Laden and his movement with the massive force of our military. The first attack was treated as a crime, while the second received no public response at all. Bin Laden judged America a paper tiger, encouraging the Sept. 11 attacks.

Now, the administration's failure to fully comprehend the threat before Sept. 11 is excusable. However, the failure to comprehend the threats before us today is a clear dereliction of duty.

Attacks on the American homeland stepped up when Obama and Clinton took office and began a strict timetable for withdrawing our military while our enemies continued to plot against us. Instead of building on the victory left for them by the success of President Bush's troop surge in Iraq, Obama and Clinton foolishly withdrew all of our forces. This led to drastic losses and allowed the then-relatively small ISIL to quickly became a formidable fighting force. They can't blame this on President Bush.

The time for drastic change has come. It is time for America to go on offense against radical Islamic terrorism at home and abroad.

The first front must be addressed with a major increase in our armed forces along with a willingness to use those forces to utterly destroy ISIL and other radical Islamic terrorist groups.

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The second front must be addressed with our law enforcement. We must ensure that the 800,000 local police officers, who are on the front lines, receive the training, information and support needed to win through effective cooperation with the FBI. They must be used as "the eyes and ears" of the FBI. No more dropped balls.

All of this will be for naught unless we recognize the danger that Obama and Clinton have created for us by allowing political correctness to overcome common sense and concern for the public’s safety.

Donald Trump has assembled a team ready to end the era of waiting for the next attack and instead going on offense at home and abroad.

Ronald Reagan was once asked how the Cold War would end. He responded then the same way that we must respond now: THEY LOSE, WE WIN.

Rudy Giuliani is the former mayor of New York City.

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