“It plays right into the hands of terrorists who want to turn us against one another – who need a reason to recruit more people to their hateful cause”, Obama addded.
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The third suicide bomber, who authorities said late Wednesday they believe they have identified as 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui, had been wanted by authorities since the November attack in Paris.
The formal declaration of war that I support would demonstrate to the world and to our people the gravity of the danger that terror groups pose, the magnitude of the crimes against humanity that ISIS and similar terrorist groups commit, and the unity of our people to destroy these terror groups and kill those who commit acts of terrorism.
The President is in Buenos Aires for the second stop of a Latin America trip that started in Cuba.
A day after bombs ripped through Brussels, President Obama declared that fighting the Islamic State group is his “No. 1 priority” and pledged that the United States will pursue the group until it is destroyed. Republicans including presidential candidates Donald Trump and John Kasich criticized the decision.
Obama dismissed the suggestion and the approach many in the GOP are advocating.
“The days of the United States voluntarily surrendering to the enemy to show how progressive and enlightened we can be are at an end”, Cruz added. “We just don’t go ahead and blow something up just so we can go back home and say we blew something up”.
Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., told the Free Beacon that the visa waiver program policy does not mandate extended and robust background checks on foreigners looking to come to the US who now live in Islamic terrorist strongholds such as Brussels.
“I just left a country that engages in neighborhood surveillance”.
Finally, yes, we are proud of our Islamic heritage, but we are also proud of our American citizenship and believe it is our duty to help defend this nation and the freedom it represents. Slate provided a good summary of what Republican candidates’ ISIS strategies have entailed, and not offer drastic differences from what Obama has pursued. “They are vicious killers and murderers”, Mr. Obama said during a visit to Argentina.
Obama has said previously that he’s confident a Democrat will be elected to replace him, and praised both Vermont Sen. The White House denies they are paying ransom. At least two Americans were among the dead and at least 14 among the injured.
“It’s wrong, counter productive, and it’s risky”, Clinton said.
What has worked, he said, are the allied air strikes on ISIS’s leadership, infrastructure and their financial systems, as well as special US operators partnering with Iraqi security forces and going after leadership networks, couriers and disrupting their bases in Raqqa and Mosul.
“While we’re doing that, we’re also extra vigilant” to work to prevent attacks”, Obama said, “but as I said before, this is hard work”.
Administration officials, meanwhile, said there was no plan to change the president’s itinerary and return to Washington, D.C., as the hunt for those responsible for the Brussels attacks intensifies. “They’re not an existential threat to us”.
Gallup’s longer-term trend on terrorism concerns, first asked in 1995 and last updated in December, also found about half of Americans saying they are “very” or “somewhat” anxious about personally becoming a victim of terrorism.
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Matthew Olsen, former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and current ABC News consultant, said he is concerned about ISIS-inspired attacks in the US like what happened in San Bernardino, but the danger that Europe faces is of a “whole other magnitude”.
