Hours after President Barack Obama addressed the nation about the war on terror, a junior Republican senator from Nebraska issued a pointed video rebuttal, arguing that Washington, D.C., “should tell the truth about the enemy we face.”
“[W]e should tell the truth about the enemy we face, we should tell the truth about them, but we should also be honest about who we are, and we should reaffirm our core values,” Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebr., said while standing outside the memorial for the San Bernardino mass shooting.
We are most certainly, though, at war with militant Islam. We are at war with the violent Islam. We are at war with jihadi Islam. We are not at war with all Muslims. We’re not at war with Muslim families in Dearborn, Mich. who want the American dream for their kids. But we are at war with those who believe that they will kill in the name of religion.
In the three-minute, 50-second video, Sasse suggested that in his address, Obama was not being honest with the country “about those who try to kill us.” He said:
President Obama said tonight he’s worried about a backlash against American Muslims. I am, too. And you know what the best way to combat that is? With the truth, by being clear about who we are and what we stand for and by being clear about those who would try to kill us because we believe in freedom.
The San Bernardino shooting killed 14 and injured another 35. It was the largest terrorist attack in the country since Sept. 11, 2001. The attack followed the downing of a Russian airliner and a terrorist attack in Paris that killed 130.
