Missing president's leadership

The tragic terrorist attack in Paris last week is yet another sad and stark reminder of the dangerous world in which we find ourselves.

We must come to the obvious conclusion that the western world -- and especially our freedom-loving nation -- is at war with Islamic terrorists.

Though they go by various names -- Boko Haram, al-Qaida, ISIS -- they are all one and the same. They are Muslim extremists determined to impose their religious beliefs on all of mankind.

I doubt most Americans have the full understanding of the vicious and non-stop nature of this new enemy. An Internet search will show you literally hundreds if not thousands of examples of Muslim extremist attacks going back 30 years.

In short, this is not an enemy that will go away. This is not an enemy with which you can negotiate. And this is not an enemy that holds any value for human life, nor tolerance.

Yet, the greatest obstacle in addressing this growing cancer is found ironically in our own administration and the confused and dangerous stance adopted by our president and his allies in Washington.

If the president and his band of merry men cannot even muster the courage to call these extremists what they are, how in the world are we to address this scourge on humanity?

With an estimated 3 million gathered in Paris last weekend to mark this tragedy, where were the leaders of our country?

Even liberals are clearly embarrassed by this apathy on the world stage.

This repulsive attitude of arrogance and ignorance from this administration begs the question of "why?"

Why can this administration not clearly identify our enemy and assure the American people of the massive military and economic sanctions we have available in our arsenal?

Instead we call a summit to discuss that which has been discussed for years. But when we fail to back up our discussions with actions, we appear weak and hopeless and even useless.

The overriding pledge of a president is to protect the American people, our freedoms and our way of life.

If this administration lacks the determination to do that simple task, then they need to step aside and allow those who can the opportunity to address this life-threatening plague.

I assure you, there is not one American who does not believe this cancer will soon make its way to our shores. And yet, we are too cowardly to address Muslim immigration into America; we are too cowardly to address the massive holes in our southern border; and we are too cowardly to call our enemy by its name.

Instead, in the midst of perhaps the greatest threat to freedom in our lifetime, we talk of free college tuition and police tactics.

We don't have to condemn the Muslim religion. But we must condemn and eradicate those who use the cover of this religion to sow their warped brand of mayhem on the world.

The solution is simple. Leadership.

Unfortunately, we find ourselves at a time in history where forces of evil are in far too much control and our leadership is missing in action.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Sikeston Standard Democrat.