They are terror attacks by people apparently inspired by extremist ideology, even if they were not directly commanded by extremist groups. And he noted that stopping such attacks is different than detecting complicated plots like 9/11.
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Obama probably has the best strategy, or at least the most realistic one, though it would certainly help if there were more progress on the ground to show for it. The latest polls, however, show record low public support for his terrorism policies, driving down his overall approval rating. NPR’s Scott Horsley reports.
The comments came as David Bowdich with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said Monday the husband and wife behind the attack in San Bernardino, California that killed 14 people were both “radicalized and had been for some time”.
Obama is right to caution against the risk of further alienating Muslims in the United States and around the world. Was the president right to reassure Americans and call for patience? “I know that after so much war, many Americans are asking whether we are confronted by a cancer that has no immediate cure”, he said.
“Here’s what I want you to know”.
“This was an act of terrorism created to kill innocent people”, he said.
President Barack Obama says the US can and must make it harder for would-be mass shooters to kill by making it harder for them to obtain guns.
Obama also urged a ban on assault weapons. In the face of fear – that’s what terrorism is – it’s trying to terrorize people.
President Obama said tonight he’s anxious about a backlash against American Muslims. Our success won’t depend on tough talk, or abandoning our values or giving into fear. “That’s what groups like Isil want”, said Mr Obama in his address, using his administration’s name for Islamic State. When we make rash decisions, reacting to the headlines instead of using our heads; when the first response to a challenge is to send in our military, then we risk getting drawn into unnecessary conflicts, and neglect the broader strategy we need for a safer, more prosperous world.
Given the likelihood of continued attacks, here and overseas, and the fact that victory is clearly not just around the corner, the President in his own as well as in the national interest, simply cannot afford to leave an information vacuum for the loud and too often demagogic voices of Trump and some of the others. House Speaker Paul Ryan complained Obama offered no new plan but only a halfhearted distraction from what Ryan labeled a failing policy.
During his address, Obama also called for Congress to give him authorization for military action against terrorist forces – a power that some believe he has dating back to a 2001 resolution. And there have reportedly already been instances where American Muslims have been targeted due to their faith, which has left them feeling vulnerable and isolated.
In his speech, he said quote – “what we should not do is reject the proposals that muslim americans who reject ISIL’s destructive ideology should somehow be treated differently”.
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Pres. Obama was also forceful in his discussion of ISIL, describing the radical terrorist group as “thugs and killers, part of a cult of death”.
