AhlulBayt News Agency - President Barack Obama defended his consistent refusal to use the term “radical Islamic terrorism” Tuesday, dismissing criticism from Donald Trump and others while insisting that doing so hinders U.S. efforts to fight terrorism.
“What exactly would using this language accomplish? What exactly would it change?" Obama asked during remarks at the Treasury Department. “Would it make ISIL less committed to try and kill Americans?” he continued.
“I have 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,” Obama said.
Obama made the speech on Tuesday after a National Security Council meeting on the threat of the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.
The president also minced no words in assaulting Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who renewed his call for a ban on Muslims entering the US following the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida.
Obama called out Republican leaders for not opposing Trump and his proposals. “Do Republican officials actually agree with this?” he asked.
The president also called for Congress to pass tougher gun control laws and the renewal of the ban on assault weapons.
“We have to make it harder for people who want to kill Americans to get their hands on weapons of war that let them kill dozens of innocents,” he said. “Enough talking about being tough on terrorism. Actually be tough on terrorism.”
On Sunday, an alleged Daesh sympathizer, armed with assault weapons, stormed a nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others, before he was killed by police. It was the worst mass shooting in US history.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, was an American-born US citizen born to parents of Afghan background.
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