Americans aren't being "steeled" for a "decades-long war" against "militant Islam" fighters "who believe in killing in the name of religion," Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse tells
Newsmax TV.
And despite the grim reality, there's "an absolute crisis of leadership in this country," the Senate Homeland Security Committee member told "The Steve Malzberg Show" Friday.
"There's a vacuum that's been created because we have a bunch of elites who'd like to hand wring and deal with the world they wish existed instead of the world we actually have," he said.
"We are at war. The American people know that, our enemies know that and it's only Washington that's confused about this point."
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Sasse said America is at war with "a specific ideology that wants to kill in the name of religion," yet our leaders won't acknowledge "the nature of the enemy we face."
"We're in a middle of what will be a decade's long war and the American people are not being steeled for it," he said. "They're afraid and it's understandable why they are."
Sasse also predicted there will be "more attacks against free society" – and that it's "very possible that there will be preventable attacks that we will fail to prevent."
According to Sasse, America isn't in the "business of starting or ending wars."
"We're in the business of winning wars," he said. "We need to intend to win and we need to win. Right now the American people are desperate for leadership because we don't have any willingness among the executive branch in particular, but among lots of Washington" that lacks "urgency about the nature of the fight we face."
"We are not at war with sociological categories like extremism or radicalism as just generic, academic, faculty-lounge chatter that has no connection to precise beliefs," he added.
Yet the war won't be over even when ISIS is defeated, he says.
"There are failed states all across the Middle East and North Africa and many people who believe in militant Islam or jihadi Islam, those who believe in killing in the name of religion, are going to go to these failed states and they're going to find terror training grounds and sanctuaries" to launch future attacks, he said.
And they are legion.
"Somewhere between tens of millions and a much larger number of people… believe in jihadi killing, they believe in suicide bombing and some significant number believe in the kind of Sharia law that is clearly violent and we are at war with that strand with militant Islam," he declared.