‘We Must Adopt A Strategy Now’

FLASHBACK: Obama: “‘They’re Not Coming Here’ . . . He Reassured Her”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “‘They’re not coming here’ . . . he reassured her.” “…[President Obama] has never believed that terrorism poses a threat to America commensurate with the fear it generates. Even during the period in 2014 when ISIS was executing its American captives in Syria, his emotions were in check. Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s closest adviser, told him people were worried that the group would soon take its beheading campaign to the U.S. ‘They’re not coming here to chop our heads off,’ he reassured her.” (“The Obama Doctrine,” The Atlantic, 4/16)

Senate Republicans: ‘The Principal Way We Can Prevent ISIL Inspired Or Directed Attacks Is To Defeat ISIL’

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “The principal way we can prevent ISIL inspired or directed attacks is to defeat ISIL. The president has led a campaign intended to contain ISIL, which has been insufficient to prevent the attacks in Paris or Brussels, or inspired attacks such as in San Bernardino.” (Sen. McConnell, Press Release, 6/14/2016)

SEN. JOHN McCAIN (R-AZ), Armed Services Committee Chairman: “The continued existence of this so-called caliphate is allowing ISIL to recruit, radicalize, and inspire terrorists around the world to answer its call to hatred and violence. We have seen the results in Paris, San Bernardino, Brussels, and now Orlando. We are relearning at too high a price the most basic lesson that terrorists cannot be allowed to have sanctuary in ungoverned spaces from which to inspire, direct, and conduct attacks against us. . . Time is not on our side in this war. America needs a strategy to destroy ISIL as quickly as possible.” (Sen. McCain, Press Release, 6/13/2016)

SEN. RICHARD BURR (R-NC), Intelligence Committee Chairman: “America is an open society. We value our freedom and diversity. ISIL has leveraged those freedoms to their advantage to attract misguided individuals who carry out acts of hate. . . Here’s one reality, one fact: you cannot negotiate with people that want to kill you. And the challenge for us and this administration is that we must adopt a strategy now. A strategy that eliminates the safe haven that ISIL has, their ability to plan external plots against the United States, against Europe, and against the rest of the world.” (Sen. Burr, Press Conference, 6/14/2016)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): “The Orlando attack was not just a random act of violence. It was a calculated act of terror. . . . What we need most of all in this fight against radical Islamic ideology is leadership, leadership from the White House, and a strategy, which we still are waiting for, and a commitment to root out and destroy ISIS and its affiliates. I get the sense that the President and his national security team feel like this is something they can contain. But this is not something they can contain.” (Sen. Cornyn, Press Release, 6/14/2016)

SEN. ROY BLUNT (R-MO): “President Obama has not put forth a comprehensive plan to defeat the terrorist threat and protect Americans. His remarks today did nothing to change that. In the wake of a brutal attack that took the lives of 49 innocent Americans, the president’s comments were more focused on defending his record than defending the nation. The president said today that he knows who the enemy is. What the American people need to know is what he is doing to stop them.” (Sen. Blunt, Press Release, 6/14/2016)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): “My goal is to prevent terrorist attacks, not respond to them. . . This is a radical Islamic effort, sometimes individually, sometimes collectively, to break our will, to destroy our way of life, and we're not dealing with it sufficiently. We should have an approach to this problem as if we're at war.” (Sen. Graham, Floor Remarks, 6/14/2016)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): “[W]e have to end this distinguishing between ISIS-directed and ISIS-inspired. It doesn’t matter. . . [T]he way they do it is to basically put out, and telling people look, if you want to get involved in fighting on behalf of the Islamic State, you don’t have to come to Libya. You don’t have to come to Syria. . . [T]hey put this stuff out there of suggested ways to attack. So this is part of their direction. They are directing people to do it, whether they met them or not. And in in the end, it doesn’t matter. 50 people are dead.” (“The Hugh Hewitt Show,” 6/13/2016)

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): “[W]e are in an existential struggle with radical Islamic jihadis who would kill us in any way, in any setting. . . [A]nd until we take the necessary steps, not just to fight off these kind of attacks on our shores, but also go on offense in Iraq, in Syria, in Libya and deny them safe havens and to take out their leaders, take out some of these key facilitators, we may just continue to see these attacks.” (“The Hugh Hewitt Show,” 6/14/2016)