Nine. More. Months.
From the Daily Mail: President Barack Obama has urged Americans not to ‘stigmatize’ Muslims in the wake of the Brussels terrorist attacks that left 34 dead – including two U.S. citizens.
He told Belgians ‘America has their back’ in the fight against terrorism and gave his prayers to those who perished in the bombings, but also attacked recent calls by GOP candidates to bring more police into American-Muslim neighborhoods. In his weekly radio and Internet address, he said: ‘We have to reject any attempt to stigmatize Muslim-Americans, and their enormous contributions to our country and our way of life.’
GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. Fellow Republican candidate Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, has called for heightened police scrutiny of neighborhoods with large Muslim populations.
During the addresses, Obama also expressed condolences to the families and renewed his vow to continue the campaign against the Islamic State, which took credit for the attacks. ‘Yesterday, we learned that at least two Americans were killed. We pray for their families and loved ones,’ he said. ‘At least 14 Americans were injured. And we pray for their full recovery, along with everyone else affected by these attacks.’
Obama said the U.S. has ramped up intelligence cooperation and that FBI agents are in Belgium assisting with the investigation into the bombings. He also said the U.S. will review international efforts to combat Islamic State militants after the Brussels attacks during a nuclear summit with world leaders next week.
Obama returned on Friday from a trip to Latin America, where he took criticism for attending a baseball game in Havana, playing dominoes with a Cuban comic and dancing the tango in Argentina while America’s allies recovered from a terrorist attack in Belgium. His tour of Latin America left him on the periphery as the world grappled with terrorism and other problems.
Republican critics faulted Obama for sticking to his itinerary amid the attack in Brussels, however Obama insisted he remained fully engaged. Even Twitter and other social media sites were abuzz with photo-shopped images of Obama tangoing superimposed over scenes of carnage. However Obama had said to drop everything and rush home every time attackers strike would be playing into extremists’ hands.
It was noted that while in Havana, he was briefed within hours of the Brussels attacks and in the Argentine city of Bariloche, he spoke by secure phone call with his counterterrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco. The White House said he directed his team to provide all needed help to Belgium.
In his address weekly address broadcast on Saturday the president did not address the criticism, but he emphasized that fighting Islamic State, also known as ISIL, was a top priority that had included greater U.S. intelligence cooperation. ‘We’re also working to disrupt plots against the United States and against our friends and allies. A team of FBI agents is on the ground in Belgium supporting the investigation,’ he said. ‘We’ve ramped up our intelligence cooperation so that we can root out ISIL’s operations. And we constantly review our homeland security posture to remain vigilant against any efforts to target the United States.’
On Friday, U.S. officials said that two Americans had been confirmed dead, but did not reveal their identities. An official told ABC News that the victims were the spouses of U.S. personnel. The American wife of an Air Force colonel had also been confirmed among the 34 people killed during the terror attack in Belgium.
The woman, whose name was not revealed, died during a triple suicide bombing in Brussels at Zaventem Airport and a train station in the neighborhood of Molenbeek, sources told Fox News. It was not immediately clear whether the woman was at the airport or the train station.
Among the other Americans that remain missing after the attacks are married couple Justin and Stephanie Shults from Kentucky, who were working as accountants in Belgium.
DCG