It’s Not ‘Terrorism,’ It’s Jihad

Attorney General Loretta Lynch says there’s no evidence that either of the San Bernardino shooters had ties to terrorist organizations. Unfortunately, such assurances miss the point, and are deeply misleading.

The killers engaged in what were, properly understood, individual acts of jihad. They were motivated by an Islamic supremacist ideology called shariah. It says God expects his followers to wage holy war to spread the true faith.

They didn’t need to be part of a terrorist group, to receive training or other assistance from one or even to be inspired by or pledge allegiance to its leaders.

What matters is that shariah required them to seek our destruction. They responded by doing so. If we are to have a hope of preventing more such jihadism here, we must recognize its individual practitioners are anything but “lone wolves.”