Obama outlines plan to fight terrorism globally and within our borders

“I think what you’re going to hear from him is a discussion about what government is doing to ensure all of our highest priority – the protection of the American people”, Lynch said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press”.

“An extremist ideology has spread within some communities”, the president said. “That’s what groups like ISIL want”, Mr Obama said.

While Obama was clear and firm on his opposition to such Islamic extremists, he was also cautious and equally clear the need to be vigilant is “not a war by America against Islam” and he stated ISIS does “not speak for Islam” and the “vast majority of the victims are Muslim”.

He urged Americans to reject proposals that Muslim-Americans be treated differently, a reflection of Republican presidential candidates’ calls – particularly those of Donald Trump – to introduce new laws directly aimed at Muslims.

One of the biggest messages the president tried to communicate to the American people was that a fear of terrorist attacks must not translate into a fear of all Muslims and spark unnecessary targeting.

Two gunmen shot down 14 people on Wednesday at a southern California social services center and injured several others. He addressed the issue concerning the Paris and San Bernardino attacks. However, it’s been widely reported at least one of the shooters, the woman in the husband-and-wife duo, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State’s leader. “For seven years, I’ve confronted this evolving threat each and every morning in my intelligence briefing, and since the day I took this office, I have authorized USA forces to take out terrorists overseas precisely because I know how real the danger is”, he said.

“As we’ve become better at preventing complex multi-faceted attacks like 9/11, terrorists turn to less complicated acts of violence like the mass shootings that are all too common in our society”.

All of this might seem like an incurable cancer, the president said.

President Obama reiterated his conviction that ISIL will be destroyed, and that the United States’ strong convictions will help it persevere over the threat of terrorism. But I would have been more reassured last night by something closer to the ugly truth from the president.

That included barring people on the no-fly list from being able to purchase firearms and to “make it harder” for people to buy “powerful assault weapons”.

As many as 81 percent of Americans also say they believe terrorists associated with ISIS who had the resources to launch a major terrorist attack were now in the U.S. In May, 76 percent thought so, and 71 percent in September 2014.

The speech from a podium in the Oval Office was just the third prime-time address from his inner office in Obama’s presidency.