Joel C. Rosenberg, author of the popular "Last Jihad" book series, "Epicenter" and "The First Hostage," says all of the current presidential candidates, except maybe three, are not prepared to deal with the threat of what he calls "apocalyptic Islam." He said front-runners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton "do not have the skill set needed to deal with Iran's mullahs or the growing threat of the Islamic State."
Rosenberg, 48, told independent news site WND the person that's been working on these issues for the longest is former Sen. Rick Santorum. "He wrote the original sanctions on Iran. He's very experienced," said the best-selling author.
Santorum, however, is reassessing his presidential campaign after a poor caucus finish in Iowa Monday evening.
The next tier of candidates Rosenberg believes is most prepared to deal with the Islamic threat are Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.
"I've been impressed by Sen. Marco Rubio. I've met with him to talk about these issues in Iowa, and then he's asked me to send him various fact sheets and backup and he has been speaking about 'apocalyptic Islam' in debates, in speeches, so he's embraced that language, not because I persuaded him but we did talk about some of the nuances, and he's served on the Senate foreign-relations committee as well as the intelligence committee," said Rosenberg in a Monday article.
Rosenberg said he's met Cruz several times, but has spent more time with his father than him. "But I've met with some of his colleagues and advisers, so I feel confident that he understands the threat."
He said he would put Santorum, Rubio and Cruz in a different category of people who "get it," and have demonstrated they are serious about neutralizing the threat of Iran and ISIS.
Rosenberg has authored 10 fiction and five non-fiction books about Islam, the Middle East and Bible prophecy. His novels have sold more than 3 million copies.
Born in Rochester, N.Y., to a Jewish father and gentile mother, Rosenberg resides in Israel with his family. Aside from his writing career, Rosenberg is the founder of the Joshua Fund, which seeks to mobilize Christians to "bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus."
On his Facebook page Monday, Rosenberg posted a link to his blog post, "How I arrived at my "final four" (and why Ben Carson isn't one of them)." He said it's encouraging to see Evangelical Christian leaders and activists understand the high stakes of this election.
"They know that we are not just facing a bumpy patch in American history. We're racing towards implosion. Many of them believe, as do I, that we urgently need to unify around a candidate who has the vision, strategies and experience to turn this ship of state around and get us headed in the right direction."
