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Source: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/02/america-stand-tall-214748
America Must Stand Against Islamic Extremists
(Politico) Gen. David H. Petraeus - The international order that America created is now under unprecedented threat from multiple directions, including by Islamic extremist organizations that want to destroy our way of life. The defeat of Islamic extremist groups does, of course, require a vital military component. But even if we succeed militarily, long-term success requires that the ideology of Islamic extremism is itself discredited. And contending with the ideological caliphate in cyberspace will undoubtedly prove more challenging than taking away the rest of what is now a shrinking physical caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Our most important ally in this war is the overwhelming majority of Muslims who reject al-Qaeda, ISIS and their fanatical, barbaric worldview. Indeed, it is millions of Muslims who are fighting and dying in the greatest numbers on the front lines of this war. The writer is former director of the CIA and former head of CENTCOM.