U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about counter-terrorism and the United States fight against Islamic State during an address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, December 6, 2015. “The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it. We will destroy Daesh and any other organisation that tries to harm us”, he said.
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Obama said that while there was no evidence that the shooters were directed by a terror network overseas or part of a broader plot, “the two of them had gone down the dark path of radicalization”.
Obama then turned to the “growing efforts” by terrorists to “poison the minds” of people, even if the terror groups don’t offer specific directions on committing an attack.
After the buildup of a prime-time address from the Oval Office – only the third in almost seven years as president – his 13-minute “stay the course” speech Sunday fell flat. A Facebook official said the post came about the time the couple stormed the San Bernardino social services centre.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said the speech provided the President an global stage to make his case but failed miserably.
Obama told a peak viewing audience that “the terrorist threat has evolved into a new phase” but argued that his strategy was equipped to deal with this. Nothing the president said “will assuage people’s fears”, the Florida senator said. He said most Muslim leaders condemn the acts of ISIS and he agrees there should be improvements in the background check process for people trying to get into America to help prevent more attacks. Obama did call for cooperation between private companies and law enforcement to ensure potential attackers can’t use technology to evade detection. He once derisively dismissed the group as a terrorist junior varsity team, said before the Paris attacks that it was contained in Syria and Iraq, and as recently as last week said there weren’t credible known threats against the U.S. And yes to a coalition of forces from nations in the region with US support.
He continued, “We also need to make it harder for people to buy powerful assault weapons, like the ones that were used in San Bernardino”.
Ian Roache recently graduated from Dundee University with a Masters Degree in International Security.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress seem to be on the same page as Obama in other areas. The no-fly list is maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), and contains people who are not allowed to board a commercial aircraft to fly in or out of the country. Gun-rights advocates say such a ban would violate the rights of people who haven’t been convicted of crimes.
There are no easy answers to subduing the malignant disease spreading in Syria and Iraq and – as we saw tragically last week – in America.
“Our success won’t depend on tough talk or abandoning our values or giving into fear.” he said. We are strong. And we are resilient. Governor Chris Christie – speaking on a New Hampshire radio show this morning – called the president’s speech absurd.
The president’s critics – and increasingly, some members of his own party – have questioned his strategy.
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Fifty-three percent felt that the United States should send ground troops to fight the Islamic State group, and 68 percent simply felt that the US response was not “sufficiently aggressive”.
