Obama presses fight against ISIS at home, abroad
Republicans call for halt to Syrian refugee influx
WASHINGTON — President Obama vowed to keep up the fight against Islamic State domestically and abroad as he faced increasing pressure from Republicans on Capitol Hill after the weekend terror attacks in New York, New Jersey and Minnesota.
“I think it is important to remember what terrorists and violent extremists are trying to do,” Obama said yesterday in New York. “They are trying to hurt innocent people, but they also want to inspire fear in all of us.”
Obama praised law enforcement officials as well as local residents for their resilience.
“We all have a role to play as citizens in making sure that we don’t succumb to that fear. And there is no better example of that than the people of New York and New Jersey,” Obama said.
Yesterday Obama met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where the leaders discussed an upcoming U.S.-led military offensive aimed at reclaiming the crucial Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS control.
“This is going to be challenging,” Obama said after the meeting, adding that he and Abadi felt “confident that we will be in a position to move forward fairly rapidly.
“It will be a tough fight,” Obama said, adding that reclaiming the territory will help expose the terror organization for the “failed cause that it is,” and harm its recruitment efforts. Obama said he will press Congress as well as allied nations to step up efforts in the fight.
Abadi said he hoped the mission to retake Mosul would be completed within the next few months.
But Republicans, who have blamed Obama’s decision to draw down troops in Iraq for the rise of ISIS there, called on Obama to halt the Syrian refugee program, which has brought in more than 10,000 people fleeing the region since last October.
“Congress should act to prevent Americans who have traveled abroad for training from returning here, and to stop the flow of refugees from hotbeds of terrorism in the Middle East that President Obama is determined to bring to our country,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said yesterday.
Cruz also called for “the active participation of American Muslims who see the jihadis for what they are: the enemies of all who celebrate freedom and tolerance.”
Obama spoke by phone with the two New Jersey law enforcement officers injured during the apprehension of the suspect in the explosions in New York and New Jersey, as well as the off-duty police officer who shot the suspect in the Minnesota mall stabbings on Saturday.