Obama spoke four days after terrorists apparently associated with ISIS fatally shot 14 people and wounded 21 more in San Bernardino, Calif. Those attacks came 19 days after a series of shootings and suicide bombings in Paris killed 130.
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OBAMA: If we’re to succeed in defeating terrorism, we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies rather than push them away through suspicion and hate.
Obama said in his speech that the U.S. “will destroy Daesh and any other organization that tries to harm us”.
On Saturday, President Obama addressed the nation for his weekly address in which he offered his condolences to the families and community of the victims of the San Bernardino shooting. The president acknowledged that the incident was an act of terrorism that appeared to be motivated by the Islamic State.
Obama talked bout his determination that the Islamic State group must be destroyed. He also cited the addition of France and U.K.to the coalition conducting bombing raids on Islamic State in Syria and greater intelligence cooperation with European governments.
At the same time he stressed that America is not at war with Islam and the country must not turn against Muslims.
This is the most direct admission by the US President that the shooting in California that killed as many as 14 people was not a simple criminal act, but a terrorist act indeed.
As many as 81 percent of Americans also say they believe terrorists associated with ISIS who had the resources to launch a major terrorist attack were now in the U.S. In May, 76 percent thought so, and 71 percent in September 2014.
Obama said that while the USA has been fighting terrorism since 9/11, the threat has “evolved into a new phase”.
But Obama said there was no evidence the assault was directed by a militant group overseas or part of a broader conspiracy at home.
Weakened encryption is another way the White House thinks will help combat terrorism, despite calls from tech companies to keep their customers protected. This is a real problem that Muslims must confront, without excuse.
Sunday’s address was particularly significant because it marked only the third time Obama has spoken to the American public from the Oval Office, which is located in the West Wing of the White House and considered the president’s official office.
Trump also chided Obama for refusing to announce a war against what he called “radical Islamic terrorists”.
“What could possibly be the argument for allowing a terrorist suspect to buy a semiautomatic weapon?” And he said that Muslims in America must not be treated differently.
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However, he insisted the United States “should not be drawn once more into a long and costly ground war in Iraq or Syria”. Using the platform to fight for gun controls, so far a losing democrat battle, Mr Obama is trying to prevent an overheated nation from falling into the extreme right’s rhetoric that blames religion for the violence.
