President Obama is courting controversy with his decision to address a group that has become dominated in recent years by extremists. Some have questioned the appropriateness of the President speaking to such an extremist group, especially because in the past it has issued threats against the United States government. As recently as 2013, for example, the extremists threatened to shut down the entire federal government if their demands were not met. On Tuesday afternoon, the White House defended the Presidents decision to speak to the extremists, pointing out that the Administration had also initiated dialogues with Iran and North Korea. 