06.15.16

President Obama: ‘They’re Not Coming Here’

On ISIL: ‘We Have Contained Them’

PRESIDENT OBAMA: ‘They’re not coming here’ “…the president would say that he had failed to fully appreciate the fear many Americans were experiencing about the possibility of a Paris-style attack in the U.S. …he has never believed that terrorism poses a threat to America commensurate with the fear it generates. Even during the period in 2014 when ISIS was executing its American captives in Syria, his emotions were in check. Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s closest adviser, told him people were worried that the group would soon take its beheading campaign to the U.S. ‘They’re not coming here to chop our heads off,’ he reassured her.” (“The Obama Doctrine,” The Atlantic, 4/16)

 

FLASHBACK: Obama Administration ISIL ‘Narratives’

2011: President Obama Asserts ‘The Tide Of War Is Receding’

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “I would note that the end of war in Iraq reflects a larger transition. The tide of war is receding.” (“Remarks By The President On Ending The War In Iraq,” The White House, 10/21/11)

2012: ‘White House Ignored Reports Prefacing The Rise’ of ISIL

“President Barack Obama's former top military intelligence official said Tuesday that the White House ignored reports prefacing the rise of ISIS in 2011 and 2012 because they did not fit its re-election ‘narrative.’ ‘I think that they did not meet a narrative the White House needed. And I'll be very candid with you, they just didn't,’ retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told CNN's Jake Tapper on ‘The Lead.’” (“Former Intel Chief Says WH Worried Over Re-Elect 'Narrative,'” CNN, 12/2/15)

  • Q: ‘Do you feel your warnings were ignored?’ LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN, Former Head Of DIA: ‘You know, I think they did not meet a particular narrative that the White House needed…’ JAKE TAPPER, CNN: “In 2012, your agency put out a now declassified report that seems to have predicted the rise of ISIS to power. You said that the deteriorating security situation in Iraq and Syria could lead to a declaration of a, quote, ‘Islamic State through union with other terrorist organizations in Iraq and Syria which will create grave danger in regards to unifying Iraq and protection of its territory.’ It was not long after you issued that report that President Obama referred to ISIS as the jayvee team. Do you feel your warnings were ignored?” LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN, Former head of DIA: “You know, I think they did not meet a particular narrative that the White House needed, and I'll be very candid with you. I have said, and I believe, that people that were around the president, his sort of inner circle that were advising him, I think advised him incorrectly.” TAPPER: “What was the narrative?” FLYNN: “I think the narrative was that al Qaeda was on the run, and bin Laden was dead and he was –” TAPPER: “The election narrative.” FLYNN: “And they were dead, these guys are, you know, we've beaten them. And we knew that. We have killed more leaders in the al Qaeda/ISIS/AQI, Boko Haram, more leaders than we can say and they continue to just multiply. So, we have to get more realistic on what it is we're facing. And we're not facing a bunch of criminals. These are not criminals. These are hardcore radical Islamists who have a deeply held belief.” (CNN’s “The Lead With Jake Tapper,” 12/1/15)

Jan. 2014: President Obama Compared ISIL To ‘A JV Team’

DAVID REMNICK, The New Yorker: “Even in the period that you’ve been on vacation in the last couple of weeks, in Iraq, in Syria, of course, in Africa, al-Qaeda is resurgent.” PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Yes, but, David, I think the analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a JV team puts on Lakers uniforms, that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant. I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian.” REMNICK: “But that JV team just took over Fallujah.” (“Spinning Obama’s Reference To Islamic State As A ‘JV’ Team,” The Washington Post, 9/3/14)

Nov. 13, 2015: President Obama Asserts ‘We Have Contained’ ISIL

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC News: “ISIS is gaining strength, aren't they?” PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Well, I don't think they're gaining strength. What is true is that from the start our goal has been first to contain -- and we have contained them.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 11/12/2015)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “…we salute the people of Paris for insisting this crucial conference go on -- an act of defiance that proves nothing will deter us from building the future we want for our children. …the growing threat of climate change could define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other.” (President Obama, Remarks At COP21, 11/30/15)

“Defense Sec. Ash Carter: ISIS is not contained” (“Defense Sec. Ash Carter: ISIS Is Not Contained,” CBS News, 12/09/2015)

“Mr. Obama was looking increasingly detached from reality, and the speech was an attempt to recover from his claims that the growing jihadist threat is ‘contained.’” (Editorial, “The President Plays Defense,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/7/15)

 

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Related Issues: War on Terror, ISIL, Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, Iraq, National Security