President Barack Obama on Saturday said he would review America’s counter-terrorism strategy, particularly military actions against the dreaded Islamic State terror group, with his national security team to prevent attacks against the US.
Advertisement
Obama will also try to reduce citizens’ concerns about the growing global as well as domestic threat posed by the terror group.
Obama’s high-profile visits to agencies charged with keeping the United States safe follow an Oval Office address last Sunday that aimed to reassure the public but that critics said failed to do the job.
Obama said that religion and background are being used by terrorist groups like ISIS to divide people, because that’s how they stoke fear and recruitment. But he is not expected to announce any significant strategy changes. But they now believe Syed Farook, 28, was already committed to radical Islam before they met.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest cautioned on Friday that no major policy shifts would come as a result of the meeting but that it is more of an “update”.
White House officials say the president plans to meet with his National Security Council on Monday, then give a public update on the fight against Islamic State militants, to start a week of security-related events.
While Obama was praised for trying to tamp down anti-Muslim rhetoric in his Oval Office address, his overall strategy has faced withering criticism, most shrilly from Republicans trying to replace him in the White House. Obama has tried to use his bully pulpit as a counterpoint to GOP front-runner Trump and his widely condemned proposal to bar Muslims from entering the US, and to push back on other politicians insisting on halting resettlement of Syrian refugees in the U.S.
The White House scheduled a conference call with religious leaders about methods to resist discrimination and promote religious toleration. Obama planned to use that occasion to reframe the national conversation about immigrants around the country’s founding values of tolerance and freedom.
Carter’s comments came following a meeting with United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon, during which the two men discussed the anti- Islamic State group operation.
Advertisement
In the weekly Republican address, he said: “We can’t contain this threat”. “To overcome ISIS, we must be in this for the long haul”.
