The US will overcome terrorism’s latest phase, Obama says in television address

Mr Obama said in his 13-minute address that while there was no evidence the shooters were directed by a terror network overseas or part of a broader plot, “the two of them had gone down the dark path of radicalisation”.

US President Barack Obama addresses the nation from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Sunday night. The president announced no significant shift in US strategy and offered no new policy prescriptions for defeating ISIL. Saul Loeb / Pool Photo via APShow less

WASHINGTON // In a rare Oval Office address, president Barack Obama vowed the United States would overcome a new phase of the terror threat that seeks to “poison the minds” of people around the world, as he sought to reassure Americans shaken by recent attacks in Paris and California.

The president’s speech on Sunday night followed Wednesday’s shooting in San Bernardino, California, that killed 14 people and wounded 21. Authorities say a couple carried out the attack and the wife pledged allegiance to ISIL and its leader in a Facebook post.

“I know that after so much war, many Americans are asking whether we are confronted by a cancer that has no immediate cure,” he said. “The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it.”

Mr Obama said in his 13-minute address that while there was no evidence the shooters were directed by a terror network overseas or part of a broader plot, and that “the two of them had gone down the dark path of radicalisation”.

In speaking from the Oval Office, Mr Obama turned to a tool of the presidency that he has used infrequently. His decision to speak in prime time reflected the White House’s concern that his message on the recent attacks hasn’t broken through, particularly in the midst of a heated presidential campaign.

Yet Mr Obama’s speech was likely to leave his critics unsatisfied. He announced no significant shift in US strategy and offered no new policy prescriptions for defeating ISIL, underscoring both his confidence in his current approach and the lack of easy options for countering the extremist group.

Congress has been unable to coalesce behind any plan to authorise more force against ISIL, and the administration’s proposal has languished since February.

Mr Obama repeated his long-standing opposition to an American-led ground war in the Middle East and made no mention of the more aggressive action others have suggested, including enforcing a no-fly zone and safe corridors in Syria.

“Our success won’t depend on tough talk, or abandoning our values or giving in to fear,” he said. “Instead, we will prevail by being strong and smart, resilient and relentless.”

The president’s critics – and increasingly, some members of his own party – have questioned his strategy. Hours before he spoke, Hillary Clinton – his former secretary of state and the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination – said the US is “not winning” the fight against ISIL.

Mr Obama has insisted that ISIL is contained in Iraq and Syria. However, the group has set its sights elsewhere in the world, launching attacks in Lebanon and Turkey and downing a Russia airliner over Egypt.

The November 13 attacks in Paris marked the group’s most aggressive actions in Europe, a coordinated effort that left 130 people dead and wounded hundreds more.

Last week, the terror threat drew even closer for Americans when the couple – a 29-year-old woman originally from Pakistan and her 28-year-old American-born husband – launched an attack in San Bernardino.

Republican house speaker Paul Ryan dismissed the president’s address as “a half-hearted attempt to defend and distract from a failing policy”.

Mr Obama did call for cooperation between private companies and law enforcement to ensure potential attackers cannot use technology to evade detection. He also urged congress to pass new force authorisation for military actions under way against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, and to approve legislation to bar guns from being sold to people prohibited from flying on planes in the US for terrorist concerns.

The president’s most specific policy announcement was to order the departments of state and homeland security to review the fiance visa programme that the female shooter in California used to enter the US. He also reiterated his call for broader gun control legislation.

“What we can do, and must do, is make it harder for them to kill,” he said.

* Associated Press