President Barack Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office last night calling the San Bernardino shootings an act of terrorism.
He reiterated the current U.S. strategy for combating the so-called Islamic State militants, including airstrikes in Syria and Iraq; training and equipment for Syrians and Iraqis; intelligence sharing with allies and Muslim communities; and a political resolution to Syrian war. President Obama also pronounced what the U.S. should not do.
“We should not be drawn once more into a long and costly ground war in Iraq or Syria. That’s what groups like ISIL want. They know they can’t defeat us on the battlefield. ISIL fighters were part of the insurgency that we faced in Iraq. But they also know that if we occupy foreign lands, they can maintain insurgencies for years, killing thousands of our troops, draining our resources, and using our presence to draw new recruits.”
He continued,
“We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam. That, too, is what groups like ISIL want. ISIL does not speak for Islam. They are thugs and killers, part of a cult of death, and they account for a tiny fraction of more than a billion Muslims around the world -- including millions of patriotic Muslim Americans who reject their hateful ideology. Moreover, the vast majority of terrorist victims around the world are Muslim. If we’re to succeed in defeating terrorism we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies, rather than push them away through suspicion and hate.”
Critics say his tone lacked outrage, specific policy changes, specific military strategies, and no timelines. Supporters say Obama’s measured tone was chosen carefully. One senior administration official, who asked for anonymity to discuss strategy, said the speech was primarily aimed at explaining the president's current plan to ordinary Americans who've been rattled by the rash of attacks in Paris, the Sinai Peninsula and, most recently, San Bernardino.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Max Boot, senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations
Hardin Lang, Senior fellow at the Center for American Progress with an expertise in the middle east, political Islam and peacekeeping