 In this role, McFarland was highly critical of President Obama's approach to combating terrorism, saying he failed to acknowledge the threat that "global Islamist jihad" posed to "Western Civilization".After the ISIL beheading incidents in 2014, she said Obama had "stuck his head in the sand" and said it was a "dereliction of duty" for "playing a lot of golf".On the U.S. diplomatic cables leak, McFarland called Julian Assange a terrorist, WikiLeaks "a terrorist organization", and called for the death penalty for Chelsea Manning (whom she referred to as Bradley Manning) if the soldier was found guilty of making the leaks.