We Must Work With Our Allies to Fight Terrorism
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today that America must continue to work to defeat a global terrorist threat:
“In recent weeks we have again been reminded of the pervasive threat posed by Islamist terrorists to the world. We've seen ghastly images in places as diverse as Brussels, Yemen, and Lahore.
“Attacks seem to be coming nearly weekly now; it feels like we hear of a new one almost every time we flip on the news.
“Over the weekend, the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee delivered an address focused on the threat facing us — and what we can do to ultimately overcome it. Senator Burr noted that he could not remember a time when the United States and its allies faced a greater array of threats across the world; which is why, as he put it, ‘we cannot simply focus our efforts on how to best respond to attacks once they’ve happened.’
“Senator Burr spoke of the significance of working with our allies to target threats at every level. He talked about the importance of ensuring law enforcement has the tools and authorities needed to keep Americans safe.
“He also underlined the need for President Obama to do more in directly taking on ISIL — and made clear that doing so would require leadership that reached beyond the Administration’s current ‘containment’ strategy.
“It’s clear that defeating ISIL, al Qaeda, and its affiliates will require concerted action by our military, by the intelligence community, and by international partners around the globe. That’s why we’ve continued to press the Administration for a serious plan to defeat these terrorist groups and not simply attempt to contain them. In addition to the ongoing air campaign, the President has lauded deploying special operations forces to target and pursue ISIL. This is a positive step, but a credible ground force will be needed to defeat ISIL.
“As Senator Burr put it, ‘We’re beyond containment and must move decisively and with purpose to eliminate the Islamic State.’
“‘The President,’ he continued, has accurately stated ‘that “ISIL poses a threat to the entire civilized world.”’ Now it is time for our strategy to match that threat.”
Related Issues: War on Terror, ISIL, Al Qaeda, National Security
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