Liz Cheney, John Bolton: US Must Go on Offense Against Terrorism

It is time for the United States to stop fighting the war on terror from a defensive position, say former Deputy Secretary of State Liz Cheney and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.

Both appeared Thursday on Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," criticizing the White House's refusal to take pre-emptive action against Islamic terrorists.

"We don't have the ability to fight this on defense, which is basically where President [Barack] Obama has put us," Cheney said, "because he won't call it a war and he won't take the necessary steps."

Obama has been telling the country repeatedly that the tide of war is receding and al-Qaida is on the run, Cheney said

"Everybody except the president and those on his national security team recognize you can't end the war unilaterally, it's not possible," she said.

Bolton said the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris Wednesday that left 12 dead requires a response.

"Not simply expressing outrage and condolences, but doing something about it," he said. "I think we have got now an entirely defensive attitude when it comes to international terrorism."

Instead, he said, America should be going after terrorists where they live.

"This is all reactive," he said. "You either continue that kind of policy and invite more tragedy or you develop a forward policy that's rests on a strongly defining what we are opposed to."

Related Stories:

• Holder Heads to Paris in Wake of Newspaper Attack
• Report: Suspect Trained in Yemen With al Qaeda