A top House Republican on national security said Sunday the U.S. needs to do a better job of identifying early signs of radicalization in hopes of averting more attacks like last week’s San Bernadino shooting.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told “Fox News Sunday” that the attack carried out by a Southern California couple was at a minimum “inspired” by the Islamic State but could have been directed and financed by organized terrorist organizations as well.
“I think we need to do a better job of identifying the early signs of radicalization inside the United States,” McCaul told host Chris Wallace.
After storming a holiday party on Wednesday, the couple shot 14 people to death and injured 21 others. Authorities are investigating the crime as an act of terrorism but say there’s no indication so far that it was directly ordered by the Islamic State.
There is evidence, however, that female shooter Tashfeen Malik was motivated by the Islamic State. While the attack was underway, she posted to Facebook a pledge of loyalty to one of the terrorist group’s leaders.
President Obama plans to address the shooting in a major Oval Office address Sunday evening. McCaul said he wants to hear the president identify a clear strategy to defeat the Islamic State and emphasize the group’s threat to the U.S., rather than blame it on a workplace dispute, as has also been suggested by authorities.
“Going back to the fact this could be an act of workplace violence–[Obama] has to get off this rhetoric,” McCaul said. “I think the tentacles of ISIS now are not just in Europe, but the United States of America.”
