“His statement about citizens not being able to buy guns on the no-fly list is problematic in terms of lack of due process, plus raising that point had nothing to do with San Bernardino”.
Advertisement
“I know there are some who reject any gun safety measures”, he said.
He also reminded the American people that ISIL and other radical terrorists do not speak for all Muslims, nor do their values represent the religion of Islam.
Standing at a lectern set up in the Oval Office – a first for a primetime address to the nation, only his third speech from the room and his first since the end of United States combat operations in Iraq in 2010 – Obama began his speech updating the country on an attack in San Bernardino, California, that took the lives of 14 people at a disability clinic.
Since the deadly November 13 attacks by Islamic State followers in Paris and last week’s California shootings, there has been a clear call from American officials for Muslims to help police themselves.
Obama also urged a ban on assault weapons.
The White House later acknowledged Obama’s error and in the transcript of his speech mentioned: “Please see below for a correction, marked with an asterisk”.
Mr Obama has insisted that IS is contained in Iraq and Syria, but the group has set its sights elsewhere in the world, launching attacks in Lebanon and Turkey and downing a Russian Federation airliner over Egypt. “On November 14, participants in the International Support Group on Syria, including Russian Federation and Iran, announced a path towards a Syrian-led political transition process”.
After declaring that the attack on San Bernardino was an act of terrorism, President Obama said, “We will overcome it. We will destroy ISIL and any other organization that tries to harm us”.
And Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said at a Brookings Institution talk Sunday that the tech industry should “shut off [ISIS terrorists’] means of communicating”, and “we need to put the great disrupters at work at disrupting ISIS”.
On Sunday, December 6th at 8:00PM EST, President Obama will address the nation from the Oval Office about the steps our government is taking to fulfill his highest priority: keeping the American people safe.
While the Federal Bureau of Investigation is still investigating the San Bernardino attacks, Obama shared the latest findings on the tragedy. That’s what groups like [the IS] are hoping for. He asked Congress to introduce tougher screenings for certain immigrants and authorize the continued use of force against terrorists overseas. One is changing the visa-waiver program, which allows people coming to the USA from certain European countries enter the US, through an expedited process with less stringent background checks.
Advertisement
The president’s most specific policy announcement was to order the departments of state and homeland security to review the fiance visa programme that Malik used to enter the US. “We’ve stepped up this effort since the attacks in Paris, and will continue to invest more in approaches that are working on the ground”, the President said.
