I think they're right, I think there needs to be a conversation about what Islam actually teaches, and the media and leaders need to stop pretending the problem isn't Islam - the belief system - because it very much looks like it is.
However, when Benedict XVI touched on Islam in his Regensburg Address, it sparked a bad reaction with Muslims around the world who rioted, burned down churches and killed people. Maybe that's why this conversation is so difficult to have, and that's why it's also essential.
Related link: Robert Spencer and Michael Coren on the London jihad murder and the subsequent whitewash ~ JihadWatch