"[T]here's no magic to the phrase "radical Islam."  It's a political talking point; it's not a strategy.  And the reason I am careful about how I describe this threat has nothing to do with political correctness and everything to do with actually defeating extremism.  Groups like ISIL and al Qaeda want to make this war a war between Islam and America, or between Islam and the West.  They want to claim that they are the true leaders of over a billion Muslims around the world who reject their crazy notions.  They want us to validate them by implying that they speak for those billion-plus people; that they speak for Islam.  That's their propaganda.  That's how they recruit.  And if we fall into the trap of painting all Muslims with a broad brush and imply that we are at war with an entire religion -- then we're doing the terrorists' work for them."

But for many on the Right, the acid test for determining whether President Obama is serious about dealing with ISIS is whether or not he describes the issue at hand as "Radical Islamic Terrorism."

The phrase unfairly tars all Muslims, most of whom are good people of good faith. So for those who demand President Obama call Muslims names, let's consider some analogous situations:

When Ian Paisley and his Northern Irish Protestant "Orangemen" were murdering innocent Irish Catholics, did we describe the problem as "Protestant Radical Terrorism?"

Similarly when the Irish Republican Army was killing British soldiers and innocent Irish Protestants while simultaneously detonating bombs in British tourist locations such as the Tower of London, did we describe the problem as being caused by "Radical Catholic Terrorism?"

And when certain fringe Evangelicals fire bomb abortion clinics and kill abortion providers, do we brand the problem "Radical Evangelical Terrorism?"

When the Jewish Defense League or similar such organizations engage in violence against their enemies do we consider that part of a problem of "Radical Jewish Terrorism?"

The answer to all of the above is "no."

Fear-mongering and religious bigotry may provide grist for the short-term political gain of certain demagogues, but there is nothing in it for the rest of us. There are better ways forward. And while reasonable people may differ as to what those ways may be, most of us should be able to agree that Muslim-baiting is counterproductive at best.