READ: Obama defends Saudi relationship
“I don’t quibble with labels. I think we all recognize that this is a particular problem that has roots in Muslim communities,” Obama said. “But I think we do ourselves a disservice in this fight if we are not taking into account the fact that the overwhelming majority of Muslims reject this ideology.”
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The U.S. needs to instead keep its response “surgical,” Obama said, to address the specific threat the U.S. faces without alienating the majority of Muslims who are peaceful and reject extremism — those who “have embraced a nihilistic, violent, almost medieval interpretation of Islam.”
