Obama Asks For Tech Cooperation After Terrorist Attacks

President Barack Obama’s oval office speech Sunday was meant to show toughness and resolve in the war against the self-declared Islamic State, and to reassure a jittery public in the aftermath of the domestic attack by followers of the group in San Bernardino, California.

Obama began his address by remembering the fourteen lives that were taken during the attack.

He wanted Americans to know he is doing all he can to keep them safe from terrorism and that he is authorizing adequate surveillance and scrutiny to identify would-be terrorists before they strike.

The president also spoke on how he wants to avoid putting boots on the ground, by helping america’s allies.

IS has praised the San Bernardino shooters, US-born Syed Farook and his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik, as “soldiers” of its self-proclaimed caliphate, while stopping short of claiming outright credit for the attack. He updated the nation on what happened in San Bernardino, where 14 people died and 21 were injured after two terrorists opened fire; they were later revealed as ISIS supporters, and the organization praised them as “martyrs”. “If they seek to get a gun – or how about the pipe bombs that they were intending to use – there will be no restriction in place on paper that will stop them”. “The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it”, he declared. The effort to train and equip Iraqi and Syrian forces will continue, he said. “What we can do - and must do – is make it harder for them to kill”. Obama’s latest proposal for gun control includes a ban on the sale of guns to those who are on a “no-fly list”. “It’s a real problem that Muslims must confront without excuse”, he continued.

“We can not turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam”, the president said. That’s what groups like Isil are hoping for. Obama cautioned against overreaction to the militant threat at home. And non-Muslim Americans must reject religious tests for refugees or for elective office. “It is our responsibility to reject language that encourages suspicion or hate”, he added. “Once a K-1 visa is issued, as per general procedure, the person has to marry the fiancee within 90 days of the arrival in the US”, State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner had said last Friday.

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Obama, discusses the president’s address.

“They know they can’t defeat us on the battlefield… but they also know that if we occupy foreign lands, they can maintain insurgencies for years, killing thousands of our troops and draining our resources, and using our presence to draw new recruits”. His decision to speak in prime time reflected the White House’s concern that his message on the recent attacks hasn’t broken through, particularly in the midst of a heated presidential campaign.