President Obama isn’t wrong when he says no terrorist group has pulled off a foreign-directed attack on U.S. soil under his watch, but that claim is heavily caveated to obscure the reality of terrorism in America.
“Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform, and the intelligence officers, law enforcement, and diplomats who support them, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years,” the president said during his farewell address in Chicago.
He added, “Although Boston and Orlando and San Bernardino and Fort Hood remind us about how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever.”
Technically speaking, Obama’s claim regarding attacks on the homeland is not wrong. Since his first inauguration in 2009, no foreign terrorist organization has planned and launched a successful attack on the U.S. from abroad.
But there’s obviously a lot more to the story, as survivors from San Bernardino, Fort Hood, Orlando, Boston, etc. will tell you.
The president’s remarks are worded carefully for a reason.
As noted elsewhere by the Washington Examiner: “By framing the issue in these very specific terms, Obama can position himself as the victor in the ongoing war on terror, while also avoiding mentions of the fact that there have been several major terrorist attacks in the U.S. during his presidency.”
Obama’s remarks Tuesday evening, which are an updated version of his Dec. 6 claim that, “No foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland,” also allow him to avoid mentioning that many of the attacks in the U.S. have been linked to overseas groups.
During Obama’s two terms in office, there have been approximately 10 major terrorist events in the U.S. where the perpetrators were either inspired by or connected to radical organizations such as the Islamic State or al-Qaeda. In many respects, it’s far more frightening if ISIS can inspire attacks among U.S. residents without having to be formally involved in coordinating them.
Again, the president’s boast Tuesday evening technically isn’t wrong. But his qualifiers have qualifiers for a reason. Under a very specific set of caveats, Obama can say he has kept America safe from terrorism.
But those caveats are the only way that he can say that.
