President Obama Implores Americans to Not Turn against Muslims at Home
Washington, DC: In a rare Oval Office address, President Barack Obama vowed Sunday night the US will overcome a new phase of the terror threat that seeks to "poison the minds" of people here and around the world, as he sought to reassure Americans shaken by recent attacks in Paris and California.
"I know that after so much war, many Americans are asking whether we are confronted by a cancer that has no immediate cure," he said, speaking from a lectern in his West Wing office. "The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it," he declared.
The president's speech followed Wednesday's shooting in San Bernardino, California, that killed 14 people and wounded 21. "This was an act of terrorism designed to kill innocent people," he said in the 13-minute address.
The President implored Americans to not turn against Muslims at home, saying the Islamic State is driven by a desire to spark a war between the West and Islam. Still, he called on Muslims in the US and around the world to take up the cause of fighting extremism.
The spread of radical Islam into American communities, he said, is "a real problem that Muslims must confront without excuse."
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