As terrorists aligned with ISIS – or Islamic State – continue to use brutal tactics in an effort to conquer Iraq and surrounding regions, many Republicans are expressing dismay that Barack Obama has failed to take a firm stance against the ongoing violence.
Virginia Republican Rep. Frank Wolf penned a letter to Obama this week encapsulating many of the concerns held by others in his party.
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He concludes that “mass atrocities” against Iraqis have already led to countless deaths and the displacement of large portions of the nation’s citizens.
“Genocide is taking place today in northern Iraq,” Wolf wrote, asking Obama why he has remained silent on the issue.
“Why have you not spoken up,” he asked, “and why has the Atrocities Prevention Board not taken action? Just today, the editorial page of The Washington Post described your administration’s response to this emergency as ‘listless.’”
He went on to describe some of the most horrendous methods used by ISIS militants in Iraq, including the desecration of Christian homes and landmarks.
“Families have been forced to flee,” he wrote, “often on foot, with nothing but literally the shirts on their backs.”
Wolf also referenced a graphic video purportedly depicting the mass slaughter of Iraqis by the Islamic militant group.
He suggested that, as Bill Clinton “deeply regretted his failure to stop the genocide in Rwanda in 1994,” Obama will likewise regret his inadequate response to the ISIS threat in Iraq.
The letter included an excerpt from a 2012 speech Obama gave at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in which he promised to live up to his promise that his administration would do “everything we can to prevent and end atrocities.”
At that time, he said that he had worked diligently as president to “back up those words with deeds.”
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Wolf, however, questioned where the deeds – or, for that matter, the words – were regarding the violence in Iraq.
“You will come to sincerely regret your failure to take action to stop the genocide in Iraq,” he concluded. “Your conscience will haunt you long after you leave office. Mr. President, say something; do something.”