In a speech at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday, President Obama declared that “[n]o foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland.” The claim earned perfunctory applause, but a closer look at the reaction of many of the servicemen and women there made clear what they really thought about the administration’s handling of national security.
The President’s claim — which he has repeated in some form or fashion over the last few years — is an obvious rhetorical attempt to gloss over the reality of the threat of radical Islamic terror on American soil. The attempt to disconnect “lone wolf” terrorists from the terror organizations who often inspire them does nothing to alleviate the pain of those who have suffered at the hands of jihadists and only hurts prevention efforts. Rhetorical tricks aside, the reality is that during Obama’s tenure scores of innocent Americans have been murdered on U.S. soil by jihadists, most of whom were inspired by or acting under the direction of foreign terror groups, particularly the Islamic state.
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