Obama, Candidates on Orlando and ISIS

On June 13, a day after the attack on a popular Orlando nightclub, President Barack Obama and the presumptive presidential candidates spoke out on the dangers of ISIS. The attacker, identified as Omar Mateen, reportedly called police during the attack and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton also outlined their strategies to counter ISIS if elected. The following are excerpted remarks by Obama, Clinton, and Trump.

President Barack Obama
 

“At the end of the day, this is something that we are going to have to grapple with -- making sure that even as we go after ISIL and other extremist organizations overseas, even as we hit their leadership, even as we go after their infrastructure, even as we take key personnel off the field, even as we disrupt external plots -- that one of the biggest challenges we are going to have is this kind of propaganda and perversions of Islam that you see generated on the Internet, and the capacity for that to seep into the minds of troubled individuals or weak individuals, and seeing them motivated then to take actions against people here in the United States and elsewhere in the world that are tragic.  And so countering this extremist ideology is increasingly going to be just as important as making sure that we are disrupting more extensive plots engineered from the outside.”

“Well, I think we don't yet know the motivations.  But here’s what we do know -- is organizations like ISIL or organizations like al Qaeda, or those who have perverted Islam and created these radical, nihilistic, vicious organizations, one of the groups that they target are gays and lesbians because they believe that they do not abide by their attitudes towards sexuality.

“Now, we also know these are organizations that think it’s fine to take captive women and enslave them and rape them.  So there clearly are connections between the attitudes in an organization like this and their attitudes towards tolerance and pluralism and a belief that all people are created equally regardless of sexual orientation.  That is something threatening to them.  Women being empowered is threatening to them. 

“So, yes, I’m sure we will find that there are connections -- regardless of the particular motivations of this killer -- there are connections between this vicious, bankrupt ideology and general attitudes towards gays and lesbians.  And unfortunately, that’s something that the LGBT community is subject to not just by ISIL but by a lot of groups that purport to speak on behalf of God around the world.”
 – June 13, 2016, in a press briefing

“We currently do not have any information to indicate that a foreign terrorist group directed the attack in Orlando.  It is increasingly clear, however, that the killer took in extremist information and propaganda over the Internet.  He appears to have been an angry, disturbed, unstable young man who became radicalized.  As we know all too well, terrorist groups like ISIL have called on people around the world and here in the United States to attack innocent civilians.  Their propaganda, their videos, their postings are pervasive and more easily accessible than we want.  This individual appears to have absorbed some of that.  And during his killing spree, the shooter in Orlando pledged allegiance to ISIL.

“As I’ve said before, these lone actors or small cells of terrorists are very hard to detect and very hard to prevent.  But across our government, at every level -- federal, state and local, military and civilian -- we are doing everything in our power to stop these kinds of attacks.  We work to succeed a hundred percent of the time.  An attacker, as we saw in Orlando, only has to succeed once.  Our extraordinary personnel -- our intelligence, our military, our homeland security, our law enforcement -- have prevented many attacks and saved many lives.  And we can never thank them enough.  But we are all sobered by the fact that, despite the extraordinary hard work, something like Orlando can occur.”

“Our mission is to destroy ISIL.  Since I last updated the American people on our campaign two months ago, we’ve seen that this continues to be a difficult fight -- but we are making significant progress.  Over the past two months, I’ve authorized a series of steps to ratchet up our fight against ISIL: additional U.S. personnel, including Special Forces, in Syria to assist local forces battling ISIL there; additional advisors to work more closely with Iraqi security forces, and additional assets, including attack helicopters; and additional support for local forces in northern Iraq.  Our aircraft continue to launch from the USS Harry Truman, now in the Mediterranean.  Our B-52 bombers are hitting ISIL with precision strikes.  Targets are being identified and hit even more quickly -- so far, 13,000 airstrikes.  This campaign at this stage is firing on all cylinders. 

“And as a result, ISIL is under more pressure than ever before.  ISIL continues to lose key leaders.  This includes Salman Abd Shahib, a senior military leader in Mosul; Abu Sa’ad al-Sudani, who plotted external attacks; Shakir Wahayb, ISIL’s military leader in Iraq’s Anbar province; and Maher al-Bilawi, the top ISIL commander in Fallujah.  So far, we’ve taken out more than 120 top ISIL leaders and commanders.  And our message is clear:  If you target America and our allies, you will not be safe.  You will never be safe. 

“ISIL continues to lose ground in Iraq.  In the past two months, local forces in Iraq, with coalition support, have liberated the western town of Rutbah and have also pushed up the Euphrates River Valley, liberating the strategic town of Hit and breaking the ISIL siege of Haditha.  Iraqi forces have surrounded Fallujah and begun to move into the city.  Meanwhile, in the north, Iraqi forces continue to push up the Tigris River Valley, making gains around Makhmour, and now preparing to tighten the noose around ISIL in Mosul.  All told, ISIL has now lost nearly half of the populated territory that it once controlled in Iraq -- and it will lose more.

“ISIL continues to lose ground in Syria as well.  Assisted by our Special Operations Forces, a coalition of local forces is now pressuring the key town of Manbij, which means the noose is tightening around ISIL in Raqqa as well.  In short, our coalition continues to be on offense.  ISIL is on defense.  And it’s now been a full year since ISIL has been able to mount a major successful offensive operation in either Syria or Iraq.

“As ISIL continues to lose territory, it also continues to lose the money that is its lifeblood.  As a result of our strikes against its oil infrastructure and supply lines, we believe that we’ve cut ISIL’s revenue from oil by millions of dollars per month.  In destroying the storage sites where they keep their cash, we’ve deprived ISIL of many millions more.”

“ISIL’s ranks are shrinking as well.  Their morale is sinking.  As one defender -- as one defector said, ISIL “is not bringing Islam to the world, and people need to know that.”  Thanks to international efforts, the flow of foreign fighters -- including from America to Syria and Iraq -- has plummeted.  In fact, our intelligence community now assesses that the ranks of ISIL fighters has been reduced to the lowest levels in more than two and half years.”

“ISIL is also losing ground in Libya.  Forces of the Libyan unity government are going after ISIL in their stronghold in Sirte.  And we’ll continue to assist the new Libyan government as it works to secure its country.”

“For a while now, the main contribution of some of my friends on the other side of the aisle have made in the fight against ISIL is to criticize this administration and me for not using the phrase “radical Islam.”  That’s the key, they tell us -- we can’t beat ISIL unless we call them “radical Islamists.”  What exactly would using this label accomplish?  What exactly would it change?  Would it make ISIL less committed to trying to kill Americans?  Would it bring in more allies?  Is there a military strategy that is served by this?  The answer is none of the above.  Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away.  This is a political distraction.  Since before I was President, I’ve been clear about how extremist groups have perverted Islam to justify terrorism.  As President, I have repeatedly called on our Muslim friends and allies at home and around the world to work with us to reject this twisted interpretation of one of the world’s great religions.

“There has not been a moment in my seven and a half years as President where we have not been able to pursue a strategy because we didn’t use the label "radical Islam."  Not once has an advisor of mine said, man, if we really use that phrase, we're going to turn this whole thing around.  Not once.  So if someone seriously thinks that we don’t know who we're fighting, if there's anyone out there who thinks we're confused about who our enemies are, that would come as a surprise to the thousands of terrorists who we've taken off the battlefield.”

“Now, up until this point, this argument about labels has mostly just been partisan rhetoric.  And, sadly, we've all become accustomed to that kind of partisanship, even when it involves the fight against these extremist groups.  And that kind of yapping has not prevented folks across government from doing their jobs, from sacrificing and working really hard to protect the American people. 

“But we are now seeing how dangerous this kind of mindset and this kind of thinking can be.  We're starting to see where this kind of rhetoric and loose talk and sloppiness about who exactly we're fighting, where this can lead us.  We now have proposals from the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States to bar all Muslims from emigrating to America.  We hear language that singles out immigrants and suggests that entire religious communities are complicit in violence.  Where does this stop?  The Orlando killer, one of the San Bernardino killers, the Fort Hood killer -- they were all U.S. citizens. 

“Are we going to start treating all Muslim Americans differently?  Are we going to start subjecting them to special surveillance?  Are we going to start discriminating against them because of their faith?  We’ve heard these suggestions during the course of this campaign.  Do Republican officials actually agree with this?  Because that's not the America we want.  It doesn't reflect our democratic ideals.  It won’t make us more safe; it will make us less safe -- fueling ISIL’s notion that the West hates Muslims, making young Muslims in this country and around the world feel like no matter what they do, they're going to be under suspicion and under attack.  It makes Muslim Americans feel like they're government is betraying them.  It betrays the very values America stands for. 

“We've gone through moments in our history before when we acted out of fear -- and we came to regret it.  We've seen our government mistreat our fellow citizens.  And it has been a shameful part of our history. 

“This is a country founded on basic freedoms, including freedom of religion.  We don't have religious tests here.  Our Founders, our Constitution, our Bill of Rights are clear about that.  And if we ever abandon those values, we would not only make it a lot easier to radicalize people here and around the world, but we would have betrayed the very things we are trying to protect -- the pluralism and the openness, our rule of law, our civil liberties -- the very things that make this country great; the very things that make us exceptional.  And then the terrorists would have won.  And we cannot let that happen.  I will not let that happen.”
– June 14, 2016, in remarks to the press

Hillary Clinton

Former Secretary of State under Obama and former Senator from New York

“No matter how many times we endure attacks like this, the horror never fades. The murder of innocent people breaks our hearts, tears at our sense of security and makes us furious.

“Now we have to steal our resolve to respond. And that’s what I want to talk to you about. How we respond.

“The Orlando terrorist may be dead, but the virus that poisoned his mind remains very much alive. And we must attack it with clear eyes, steady hands, unwavering determination and pride in our country and our values.

“I have no doubt — I have no doubt we can meet this challenge if we meet it together. Whatever we learn about this killer, his motives in the days ahead, we know already the barbarity that we face from radical jihadists is profound.

“In the Middle East, ISIS is attempting a genocide of religious and ethnic minorities. They are slaughtering Muslims who refuse to accept their medieval ways. They are beheading civilians, including executing LGBT people. They are murdering Americans and Europeans, enslaving, torturing and raping women and girls.

“In speeches like this one, after Paris, Brussels and San Bernardino, I have laid out a plan to defeat ISIS and the other radical jihadist groups in the region and beyond.

“The attack in Orlando makes it even more clear, we cannot contain this threat. We must defeat it. And the good news is that the coalition effort in Syria and Iraq has made recent gains in the last months.

“So we should keep the pressure on ramping up the air campaign, accelerating support for our friends fighting to take and hold ground and pushing our partners in the region to do even more.

“We also need continued American leadership to help resolve the political conflicts that fuel ISIS recruitment efforts.

“But as ISIS loses actual ground in Iraq and Syria, it will seek to stage more attacks and gain stronger footholds wherever it can, from Afghanistan, to Libya, to Europe.

“The threat is metastasizing. We saw this in Paris. And we saw it in Brussels. We face a twisted ideology and poisoned psychology that inspires the so-called lone wolves, radicalized individuals who may or may not have contact and direction from any formal organization.

“So, yes, efforts to defeat ISIS on the battlefield must succeed. But it will take more than that.

“We have to be just as adaptable and versatile as our enemies. As president, I will make identifying and stopping lone wolves a top priority.

“I will put a team together from across our government, the entire government, as well as the private sector and communities to get on top of this urgent challenge. And I will make sure our law enforcement and intelligence professionals have all the resources they need to get the job done.

“As we do this, there are three areas that demand attention. First, we and our allies must work hand-in-hand to dismantle the networks that move money, and propaganda, and arms and fighters around the world.

“We have to flow — we have to stem the flow of jihadists from Europe and Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and then back again. The only way to do this is by working closely with our partners, strengthening our alliances, not weakening them or walking away from them.

“Second, here at home, we must harden our own defenses. We have to do more to support our first responders, law enforcement and intelligence officers who do incredible work every day at great personal risk to keep our country safe.”

“The third area that demands attention is preventing radicalization and countering efforts by ISIS and other international terrorist networks to recruit in the United States and Europe.

“For starters, it is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris and the Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations. And they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path towards extremism.”

“Since 9/11, law enforcement agencies have worked hard to build relationships with Muslim American communities. Millions of peace-loving Muslims live, work and raise their families across America. And they are the most likely to recognize the insidious effects of radicalization before it’s too late, and the best positioned to help us block it. So we should be intensifying contacts in those communities, not scapegoating or isolating them.

“Last year, I visited a pilot program in Minneapolis that helps parents, teachers, imams, mental health professionals and others recognize signs of radicalization in young people and work with law enforcement to intervene before it’s too late.

“I’ve also met with local leaders pursuing innovative approaches in Los Angeles and other places. And we need more efforts like that in more cities across America. And as the director of the FBI has pointed out, we should avoid eroding trust in that community, which will only make law enforcement’s job more difficult.

“Inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric and threatening to ban the families and friends of Muslim Americans as well as millions of Muslim business people and tourists from entering our country hurts the vast majority of Muslims who love freedom and hate terror.

“So does saying that we have to start special surveillance on our fellow Americans because of their religion. It’s no coincidence that hate crimes against American Muslims and mosques have tripled after Paris and San Bernardino. That’s wrong. And it’s also dangerous. It plays right into the terrorists’ hands.

“Still, as I have said before, none of us can close our eyes to the fact that we do face enemies who use their distorted version of Islam to justify slaughtering $ innocent people. They’d take us all back to the Stone Age if they could, just as they have in parts of Iraq and Syria.

“The terrorist in Orlando targeted LGBT Americans out of hatred and bigotry. And an attack on any American is an attack on all Americans.”

“President Bush went to a Muslim community center just six days after the attacks to send a message of unity and solidarity. To anyone who wanted to take out their anger on our Muslim neighbors and fellow citizens, he said, “That should not, and that will not, stand in America.” It is time to get back to the spirit of those days, spirit of 9/12. Let’s make sure we keep looking to the best of our country, to the best within each of us. Democratic and Republican presidents have risen to the occasion in the face of tragedy. That is what we are called to do my friends and I am so confident and optimistic that is exactly what we will do.”

– June 13, 2016, in a speech

Donald Trump

CEO of the Trump Organization

"This is a very dark moment in America’s history.

"A radical Islamic terrorist targeted the nightclub not only because he wanted to kill Americans, but in order to execute gay and lesbian citizens because of their sexual orientation.

"It is a strike at the heart and soul of who we are as a nation.

"It is an assault on the ability of free people to live their lives, love who they want and express their identity.

"It is an attack on the right of every single American to live in peace and safety in their own country.

"We need to respond to this attack on America as one united people – with force, purpose and determination.

"But the current politically correct response cripples our ability to talk and think and act clearly.

"If we don’t get tough, and we don’t get smart – and fast – we’re not going to have a country anymore — there will be nothing left.

"The killer, whose name I will not use, or ever say, was born to Afghan parents who immigrated to the United States. His father published support for the Afghan Taliban, a regime which murders those who don’t share its radical views. The father even said he was running for President of that country.

"The bottom line is that the only reason the killer was in America in the first place was because we allowed his family to come here.

"That is a fact, and it’s a fact we need to talk about.

"We have a dysfunctional immigration system which does not permit us to know who we let into our country, and it does not permit us to protect our citizens.

"We have an incompetent administration, and if I am not elected President, that will not change over the next four years — but it must change, and it must change now.

"With fifty people dead, and dozens more wounded, we cannot afford to talk around the issue anymore — we have to address it head on.

"I called for a ban after San Bernardino, and was met with great scorn and anger but now, many are saying I was right to do so — and although the pause is temporary, we must find out what is going on. The ban will be lifted when we as a nation are in a position to properly and perfectly screen those people coming into our country.

"The immigration laws of the United States give the President the power to suspend entry into the country of any class of persons that the President deems detrimental to the interests or security of the United States, as he deems appropriate.

"I will use this power to protect the American people. When I am elected, I will suspend immigration from areas of the world when there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies, until we understand how to end these threats.

"After a full, impartial and long overdue security assessment, we will develop a responsible immigration policy that serves the interests and values of America.

"We cannot continue to allow thousands upon thousands of people to pour into our country, many of whom have the same thought process as this savage killer.

"Many of the principles of Radical Islam are incompatible with Western values and institutions.

"Radical Islam is anti-woman, anti-gay and anti-American.

"I refuse to allow America to become a place where gay people, Christian people, and Jewish people, are the targets of persecution and intimidation by Radical Islamic preachers of hate and violence.

"It’s not just a national security issue. It is a quality of life issue.

"If we want to protect the quality of life for all Americans – women and children, gay and straight, Jews and Christians and all people – then we need to tell the truth about Radical Islam.

"We need to tell the truth, also, about how Radical Islam is coming to our shores.

"We are importing Radical Islamic Terrorism into the West through a failed immigration system — and through an intelligence community held back by our president.

"Even our own FBI Director has admitted that we cannot effectively check the backgrounds of the people we are letting into America.

"All of the September 11th hijackers were issued visas.

"Large numbers of Somali refugees in Minnesota have tried to join ISIS.

"The Boston Bombers came here through political asylum.

"The male shooter in San Bernardino – again, whose name I won’t mention — was the child of immigrants from Pakistan, and he brought his wife – the other terrorist – from Saudi Arabia, through another one of our easily exploited visa programs.

"Immigration from Afghanistan into the United States has increased nearly five-fold in just one year. According to Pew Research, 99% of people in Afghanistan support oppressive Sharia Law.

"We admit many more from other countries in the region who share these same oppressive views.

"If we want to remain a free and open society, then we have to control our borders.

"When it comes to Radical Islamic terrorism, ignorance is not bliss – it’s deadly."
– June 13, 2016, in a speech