On the heels of the terrorist attack in San Bernardino last week, stories about how to prevent more attacks at home dominated the headlines. Some talked about limiting gun access according to weapon type or buyer background, many addressed Trump’s idea of barring Muslims from entering the country, and several responded to the Oval Office speech on terrorism that President Obama gave Sunday night. As presidential primetime addresses are rare, we bring you a cross-section of analysis of that speech today.
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Snippets from the Left
President Obama’s Tough, Calming Talk on TerrorismNew York Times
“Mr. Obama also issued a strong and timely challenge to Congress to approve a new legal authorization for the military campaign that was launched in August 2014. It’s time, he said, ‘for Congress to demonstrate that the American people are united and committed in this fight.’
The failure of Congress to vote on a new legal framework for the war against the Islamic State has long been a problem, but especially now with the administration deploying elite troops to carry out raids in Syria and Iraq. It has become indefensible in recent days with the British and German parliaments debating and voting to authorize their militaries to join the air campaign against the Islamic State.
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Mr. Obama once again asked Congress to take on common-sense reforms to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, including barring people on the government’s no-fly list from acquiring weapons.”
Snippets from the Right
“Obama’s reassurances about the fight against ISIS fell flat. In effect, a ragtag army of about 20,000 men have stood up to a year and a half of a U.S.-led war and prevailed—all the while expanding their influence around the globe. Their success has inspired attacks like the ones in Paris and San Bernardino.
Calling for Congress to approve retroactively his anti-ISIS campaign, as he did again in his Sunday evening prime time address, will do nothing to improve the flagging effort. This is merely another attempt to shift blame for failure down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to Congress.
Obama failed to climb down from his assessment that ISIS is ‘contained’—something that not even his own top general believes.”
Snippets from the Center
“Whether it succeeded on any of those counts may depend where observers sit on the polarized U.S. political spectrum. But while it was largely a stay-the-course speech rather than one that heralds swift or significant changes to the anti-terrorism approach Obama has pursued throughout his presidency, the President did make several proposals and highlight some evolution in how the United States will go after ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
He notably put the emphasis on Congress to take action on making it more difficult for terrorists to acquire guns in the United States and to enact changes to visa programs in the wake of the San Bernardino attack. Obama also wants lawmakers to finally put the war against ISIS on firm legal footing.”