Obama reassures US
WASHINGTON, Dec 18, (AFP): President Barack Obama sought Thursday to reassure Americans they face no “credible” terror threat, as US authorities began a review of the visa system that let one of the San Bernardino shooters into the country.
It was the third time in 10 days that Obama addressed America’s counterterrorism efforts in the wake of the mass shooting in California that is being investigated as a terror attack.
“At this moment, our intelligence and counterterrorism professionals do
not have any specific and credible information about an attack on the homeland,” the president said after meeting top US security officials at the National Counterterrorism Center in Virginia.
“That said, we have to be vigilant,” he said. “As I indicated in my address to the nation last week, we are in a new phase of terrorism including lone actors and small groups of terrorists like those in San Bernardino.
“Because they are smaller, often selfinitiating, self-motivating, they’re harder to detect. And that makes it harder to prevent. But just as the threat evolves, so do we.”
The Dec 2 murder of 14 people in San Bernardino was carried out by US-born Syed Farook and his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik. The radicalized Muslim couple are believed to have been inspired, if not directed, by the Islamic State group — illustrating the evolving threat posed by the jihadist network.
Obama repeated his pledge to hunt down IS in its stronghold in Syria, where the United States is leading a coalition bombing the jihadists, and to do more to prevent battle-hardened fighters returning to the West to stage attacks.
“We’re sending a message; if you target America, you will have no safe haven,” he said. “We will find you, and we will defend our nation,” he said.
“We’re doing more with countries around the world, including our European partners, to prevent the flow of foreign terrorist fighters both to
places like Syria and Iraq and back into our countries.”
Obama has also ordered a review of the K-1 visa system — also known as the “fiancee visa” — which Malik used to enter the United States. Possible changes include increased monitoring of social media posts and a more detailed background check and interview process.
Authorities also want to add security steps to America’s popular visa-waiver program, under which visitors from dozens of friendly countries can come without a visa.
Elsewhere, EU leaders vowed on Friday to step up the fight against terrorism in the wake of the Paris attacks, wrapping up a dramatic 2015 plagued by a series of crises.
Leaders of the bloc’s 28 member states assembled in Brussels for their last summit of a year which opened with the threat of a Greek exit from the euro and ended with a refugee crisis of historic proportions as well as Britain facing its own possible “Brexit” from the European Union.
“I am under no illusions,” said European Commission head JeanClaude Juncker as he arrived for the second day of the talks when asked on his hopes for a smoother 2016.
This year was also marked by deadly attacks by Islamists in Paris but also in Copenhagen, with the threat by violent and often homegrown extremists affecting all of Europe.
“I have never lived such a year that starts with terror and finishes with terror, that is marked by fear and deep crises,” said European Parliament head Martin Schulz after the first day of talks.