Terrorist Threat Has ‘Evolved’ Into a New Phase, Obama Says President asks Congress to vote on war resolution against Islamic State, ban people on no-fly list from buying guns By Damian Paletta And Carol E. Lee
http://www.wsj.com/articles/terrorist-threat-has-evolved-into-a-new-phase-obama-says-1449451592
President Barack Obama used a rare Oval Office address on Sunday to lay out his administration’s approach for dealing with the rising threat of domestic terrorism in the wake of last week’s San Bernardino massacre, calling for new gun control measures and tightened visa application processes, but suggesting no new military initiatives.
Mr. Obama said the attack underscores that the threat of terrorism in the U.S. “has evolved into a new phase.”
The president called on Congress to pass legislation to prevent people who are on “no fly” terrorism watch lists from buying guns in the U.S., and reiterated his call for lawmakers to pass a new authorization for his administration to use force against Islamic State, or ISIS, a vote he said would “demonstrate that the American people are united, and committed, to this fight.”
In addition, Mr. Obama called for new measures to tighten national security, including a review of the visa program that one of the San Bernardino attackers used to enter the U.S. last year.
He also sharply pressed for Muslim leaders to be more active in stopping radicalization, an area where U.S. officials have seen mixed success in recent years. As part of this push, he pleaded with Americans not to alienate Muslims in response to last week’s attacks, warning that “this divisiveness, that betrayal of our values plays into the hands of groups like ISIL.”
The prime-time address marked a turning point in his administration’s fight against Islamic State and other terrorist groups that previously had largely played out on foreign soil.
Mr. Obama’s remarks came after sustained criticism from political foes—and even some Democratic allies in Congress—who had complained that the White House had not done enough to articulate or adjust its strategy for combating Islamic State terrorists both at home and abroad.
The San Bernardino massacre—the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001—shattered any sense among Americans that the battle was one waged overseas. The challenge now for Mr. Obama lies in assuring the country that the government is doing everything it can to prevent similar attacks.
Mr. Obama didn’t announce an overhaul of his counterterrorism strategy or any sweeping changes in the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State. Instead, he sought to reassure a jittery nation by emphasizing a boost in national-security measures designed to blunt terrorists’ ability to strike in the U.S., and in elements of his Islamic State strategy.
“We will prevail by being strong and smart, resilient and relentless,” he said.
The president leaned heavily on Congress to help augment the strategy he has already had in place, but Republican leaders were critical of his plans.
“The enemy is adapting, and we must too. That’s why what we heard tonight was so disappointing: no new plan, just a half-hearted attempt to defend and distract from a failing policy,” House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) said in a statement.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) suggested potential common ground with the White House on tightening visa screening but said the current threats require a “more robust strategy” than the one Mr. Obama outlined.
“What the president needed to do tonight, but failed to do, is to articulate to the American people a new, clear strategy to defeat ISIS and protect our country and our allies from more terrorist attacks. Instead, what we heard was more of the same containment strategy,” Mr. Corker said in a statement.
Jeb Bush, a Republican presidential candidate and former governor of Florida said: “This president hasn’t had a strategy and it is creating a caliphate the size of Indiana.” GOP front-runner Donald Trump tweeted: “Is that all there is? We need a new President—FAST!”
The president said he had ordered a review of the visa program under which Tashfeen Malik, the wife of the other suspect in the San Bernardino attacks, had entered the U.S. last year. That program allows the potential spouses of American citizens to enter the U.S. on a K-1 or fiancé/fiancée visa with the requirement that they marry within 90 days.
Then the spouse can apply for permanent residence through the “Green Card” program.
In the wake of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people, Mr. Obama spoke out sharply against legislation in Congress to halt the resettlement of Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the U.S.
While Mr. Obama called for streamlining technology that allows law enforcement to better track potential threats, he didn’t seek to renew the debate on surveillance.
The administration also is looking into tackling the use of encrypted messages to plan attacks.
The attack in San Bernardino has intensified calls for the White House to rethink the U.S. approach against Islamic State and on national-security issues more broadly.
The U.S. has mostly relied on airstrikes to combat Islamic State and recently launched a campaign targeting the group’s funding sources, specifically its oil supply. The White House plans to host a summit on Dec. 17 focusing on ways to disrupt Islamic State’s financial network.
While declaring the San Bernardino attack, which killed 14 people and injured 21, an “act of terror,” Mr. Obama on Sunday appealed to Americans to resist reacting in ways he believes would alienate Muslims in the U.S. and fuel the extremist ideology perpetuated by groups like Islamic State.
Even before Wednesday’s attack, polls showed that confidence in Mr. Obama’s approach to national security had started to wane following attacks by supporters of Islamic State on several continents. Combined, recent attacks in the U.S., France, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Mali have killed more than 500 people.
The attacks came after a statement by an international consortium of countries that they were making progress in disrupting Islamic State’s foothold in Syria and Iraq. Mr. Obama also said in recent weeks that the group was contained there and that there was no credible terrorism threat against the U.S.
Islamic State is increasingly using a combination of foreign fighters slipping into Europe as well as social media radicalization to expand its reach.
Unlike the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, the one in San Bernardino doesn’t appear to have been organized by Islamic State but rather carried out by individuals sympathetic to the group. In many ways that further complicates U.S. efforts to prevent future attacks.
The San Bernardino shooting has been particularly jarring for Americans because it was carried out at an atypical target—a social-services center—and in a community that wouldn’t otherwise have been identified as a terrorist target.
The background of the suspects further stoked fears that the government won’t be able to prevent similar attacks because they were carried out by an American citizen and his Pakistani-born wife who entered the U.S. legally.
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