WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest on President Barack Obama’s Oval Office address on the threat of terrorism and the government’s response following attacks in California and Paris (all times local):
President Obama says the U.S. and its allies are stepping up the fight against the Islamic State group.
He says the U.S. is working with allies, such as Britain and Germany who have begun bombing targets in Syria. The U.S. has increased its bombing of Islamic State oil infrastructure and will continue to train and equip moderate rebels in Iraq and Syria.
The U.S. has recently added special operations forces in both Iraq and Syria, but Obama continues to reject placing regular troops on the ground.
Obama says the U.S. is also working with allies to cut off the group’s financing and will continue to enhance intelligence gathering and sharing.
President Barack Obama says the American Muslim community needs to be a partner in the fight against radical Islam.
Obama says Muslims can send credible, effective counter messages and undermine jihadist propaganda.
Obama is calling the Islamic State “thugs, killers” and a “cult of death.” He says they represent a “tiny fraction” of the Muslim community.
The president says the West is not at war against Islam. He is cautioning Americans not to single out Muslims.
He says the U.S. can and must make it harder for would-be mass shooters to kill by making it harder for them to obtain guns. He’s calling for Congress to prohibit people suspected of terrorism or on the no-fly list from buying guns.
Obama says he knows some people reject all gun safety measures. But he says no matter how effective law enforcement and intelligence is, they can’t identify every would-be shooter. Obama says it’s a matter of national security to prevent those people from getting guns.
Obama has urged stricter gun laws following the California shootings, but like previous mass shootings, those calls have met resistance from gun control opponents. 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.
President Obama says he understands why Americans are worried about the threat of terrorism but is reassuring Americans the U.S. will overcome it.
Obama says “we will prevail by being strong and smart.” He says Americans cannot give into fear.
President Barack Obama says it’s clear the two killers in the California shootings had gone down the “dark path of radicalization.”
He’s calling it an “act of terrorism designed to kill innocent people.”
Obama says the killers had stockpiled weapons and ammunition. But Obama says there’s no evidence the killers were directed by a terrorist organization overseas. He says there’s also no evidence they were part of a broader network in the U.S.
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