San Bernardino Attack: Obama Vows To Overcome Terror Threat

President Obama spoke to the nation on Sunday in a rare primetime address from the Oval Office, explaining the government’s strategy for preventing future terrorist attacks at a time when America’s anxiety is running high.

Yet Obama’s speech was likely to leave his critics unsatisfied.

“The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it”. Obama insists the USA and its allies are stepping up their military attacks on ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

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. The draft language put forth by the White House allows Obama “to use the Armed Forces of the United States as the president determines to be necessary and appropriate against ISIL or associated persons or forces”.

Republicans also slammed Obama’s call for stricter gun control laws following the shooting rampage. This is a matter of national security. They were later killed by police during a shootout.

On Thursday, the Senate rejected legislation barring people suspected by the government of being terrorists from purchasing firearms. Gun rights advocates oppose the no-fly list proposal because they say it violates the rights of people who haven’t been convicted of a crime. At the heart of the debate is whether the US should send ground troops to fight ISIS and whether the war should be limited to ISIS territory in Syria and Iraq or extended to any nation where the militant group has supporters. He said Americans can not give into fear. “We will prevail by being strong and smart, resilient and relentless”.

“If I am elected President, I will direct the Department of Defense to destroy ISIS”.

“We just want to get it right”, he said. However, the group has set its sights elsewhere in the world, launching attacks in Lebanon and Turkey and downing a Russian Federation airliner over Egypt. His speech comes amid criticism that he has underestimated the threat from an extremist group that claimed responsibility for last month’s deadly attacks in Paris. According to the president, the FBI’s investigation of Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, is still ongoing, and as of Sunday evening, no specific links had been determined.

He refuses to use the term radical Islamic terrorism. A Facebook official said the post came about the time the couple stormed the San Bernardino social service center.

The speech was slammed, predictably, by Republican presidential candidates, but also by others who wanted to hear more.

“I hope so because we have not seen him- or I least I believe that we have not seen him take a bold enough stand on this and recognize that this is domestic terrorism”, Huizenga said. “But it’s also important for us to recognize it for what it is, and I think that’s, you know, why the president has taken the approach that he has”.

On Thursday, as investigators were searching for a motive, Obama said at the White House that the shootings could have been terrorist-related or workplace-related.