By David Cruz
Correspondent
Reaction to the president’s address was, as you might expect, predictably divided among party lines. The 13-minute Oval Office speech – inspired by the mass shootings in California last week – touched on a number of issues that have been front and center in the aftermath of what the president acknowledged was a terrorist attack, including the military strategy, gun control and immigration.
“The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it,” he said. “We will destroy ISIL and any other organization that tries to harm us. Our success won’t depend on tough talk, or abandoning our values or giving in to fear. That’s what groups like ISIL are hoping for. Instead, we will prevail by being strong and smart, resilient and relentless.”
The president said he is ramping up air strikes on Islamic State strongholds in Iraq and Syria, training and equipping fighters there and expanding the number of U.S. Special Forces in the region. But he also said that efforts to find a political solution, a ceasefire, at least, in Syria were a key element of the policy. The president also asked Congress to give him authority to prosecute a war on terror effectively.
“If Congress believes – as I do – that we are at war with ISIL, it should go ahead and vote to authorize the continued use of force against these terrorists,” said Obama. “For over a year I have ordered our military to take thousands of air strikes against military targets. I think it’s time for Congress to demonstrate that the American people are united and committed to this fight.”
But the president’s critics said there was nothing new in his speech, except maybe his tying in gun control. He called on Congress to close a loophole that allows those on the terrorist no-fly list to qualify for gun permits – something they failed to do when they had a chance last week. Governor Chris Christie – speaking on a New Hampshire radio show this morning – called the president’s speech absurd.
“What the president believes here, incredibly, is that somehow, people who are radicalized domestically as terrorists by radical Muslims, are going to somehow follow his gun control laws. This is a guy who lives in a fantasy land. He lives in the world as he wishes it were, not the world as it really is,” said Christie. “There’s no new strategy. The president is basically saying, ‘I’ve done nothing; the philosophy of my administration is don’t do stupid stuff’ and he thinks that by continuing that, that he’s going to somehow defeat ISIS, which is not going to happen.”
Even Congressman Bill Pascrell, who has been a strong Obama supporter, questioned some of the policy that led to the current crisis.
“I’ve never totally agreed with the president’s position in Syria,” admitted Pascrell. “I thought we should’ve helped the moderates in the very, very beginning, but the one thing that I do agree is that I don’t want to put American troops on the line there.”
But a more robust military reaction is what some Republican presidential candidates are calling for. Donald Trump has led the call for closer monitoring of Muslims and mosques here in the U.S.
“We need to be understanding that we’re all in this together as Americans,” added Senator Cory Booker. “We need to work together, cooperate with each other and definitely not vilify each other or turn on each other. This is a time for America to come together. In the face of fear – that’s what terrorism is – it’s trying to terrorize people. In the face of fear, the response should be courage, and making sure we don’t surrender our values.”
For the president, it’s really a no-win situation. He doesn’t seem to have eased many fears, or quieted his many critics, which may beg the question why make the speech at all, except that he would’ve probably been roundly criticized for saying nothing at all.