Today the President's rhetoric on the threat of al-Qaeda and its franchises are in stark contrast to the reality we are witnessing in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Whether or not the downplaying of the spread of these Islamic extremist groups and the real threat they pose, which are metastasizing from the civil war in Syria, is to further a political agenda or simply to avoid the conflict altogether, I believe this false narrative greatly endangers our National security. Protecting this Nation requires that we correctly identify the threats against it. It also requires that the United States lead on the world stage. The administration labeled the Fort Hood massacre "workplace violence," explained Benghazi away with a protest to a video as opposed to an al-Qaeda-driven attack, and removed words like "violent Islamist extremism" from their vernacular. With each attack, the administration appears to distance itself from who is behind it. Killing bin Laden was an important accomplishment, but it has not put al-Qaeda on its heels or secured the homeland. In fact, according to a recent article, al-Qaeda appears to control more territory in the Arab world than it has done at any time in its history.