The Obama administration famously refuses to identify radical Islam by name, preferring such nebulous terms as “violent extremism.” And the president himself routinely denies or downplays the religious nature of the ideology behind Islamic terrorism, instead depicting the attraction to Islamic State (IS) as a result of joblessness or “bad governance” in countries from which many jihadis hail. Ayaan Hirsi Ali points to the disconnection between this view and reality:

In the event that Joe Biden wins the upcoming presidential elections, there is a good chance that the U.S. will revert to the Obama-era policy of realignment with Iran, and to distancing itself from traditional Middle Eastern allies like Saudi Arabia. Richard Goldberg argues that Riyadh, along with the United Arab Emirates, can buy itself some security by establishing official relations with Jerusalem: