“We stand united with people around the world who’ve been targeted by terrorists – from a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris,” Obama said in his State of the Union address, just days after militant attacks in the French capital left many dead.
As he asked US lawmakers to give him updated war powers to use American military might to go after the Islamic State group, Obama vowed: “We will continue to hunt down terrorists and dismantle their networks.”
The US has already unleashed dozens of airstrikes against the militants since September, using the powers enshrined in legislation adopted in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to hunt down Al Qaeda.
“Tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL,” Obama said.
But he stressed US officials “reserve the right to act unilaterally, as we’ve done relentlessly since I took office, to take out terrorists who pose a direct threat to us and our allies.”
Obama denounced that “deplorable anti-Semitism” was again being seen in places around the world.
But the US president also stressed “we continue to reject offensive stereotypes of Muslims – the vast majority of whom share our commitment to peace.”
Promising to stand up for and respect human dignity, Obama added: “That’s why we defend free speech, and advocate for political prisoners, and condemn the persecution of women, or religious minorities, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.”
“We do these things not only because they’re right, but because they make us safer.” He added.
