OPINION:
Below is the transcript of the speech President Obama should have given Sunday night from the Oval Office:
“Tonight, I address the nation after the brutal murder of 14 innocents in San Bernardino. Let me begin by stating that I apologize for any role my policies might have played in failing to prevent this terrorist attack.
“I mistakenly believed we could fight Islamic extremists with words—negotiating, appeasing, and compromising with an enemy that has little regard for life and an unquenchable thirst for death. I thought we could contain ISIS with sporadic air strikes and appease Muslim communities by refusing to say “Islamic radicalism.” I thought we could compromise by withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan, closing Guantanamo, and releasing terrorists. I thought we could negotiate security with a nuclear-armed Iran. I thought our outstretched hands would unclench their fists and usher in an era of coordinated worldwide governance and peace.
“I envisioned the world not as it is, but as I believe it should be. In this world, the symbolism of a reset button was more powerful than longstanding alliances and a proven policy of peace through strength; open borders and unenforced immigration laws would reignite respect for America; and terrorism would cease once we eliminated islamophobia, confiscated guns, and revamped our foreign policy.
“Since the earliest days of my first campaign, I have been critical of my predecessor. I was fervently committed to undo everything he had done believing he was wrong about our leadership role in the world, the nature of our enemies, and the wars.
“I boasted about preventing September 11th-style attacks. I characterized attacks by adherents of the Religion of Peace as random acts of violence due to lax gun laws, work place violence, even mental illness. I defended Muslims who were offended by videos and cartoons and responded by decapitating, immolating, and torturing.
“I told you that ISIS was contained and promised that Paris couldn’t happen here. I claimed we were safe—after all, I had transformed the country. I now realize it doesn’t matter if we embrace their ideology or rebuff it; if we engage them in discussion or on the battlefield. They are determined to bring death to our shores.
“Had I only seen the world the way it was and not the way I wanted it to be.
“Starting this week, I will meet with my national security team, counter-terrorism experts, immigration officials, and military advisors to devise a comprehensive plan to protect the homeland.
“New gun control laws will not make a difference. Terrorists will find their guns—illegally or legally. Take them away, they will use pipe bombs, crock pots, or nukes. Take those away, they’ll replace them with chemicals and bio-agents. Make that impossible, they’ll use planes, trains and automobiles. Molotov cocktails. Sticks and stones. Bare hands. Mere threats. Terrorists intent on terrorizing will always find a way.
“I will bring the full weight of all U.S. resources on the terrorists wherever they live and train and to the countries that hide them. If this sounds like Bush, it is. His foresight in removing Saddam and inserting an American military presence between Syria and Iran, with another in Afghanistan, was misunderestimated. Had I not prematurely withdrawn our troops and military assets, we could have snuffed out ISIS before their stranglehold on the region; before their tentacles reached our shores and inspired American citizens—serving in our military, working in our government, living in our neighborhoods—to kill.
“The terrorists took advantage of their compatriots who promoted them to positions of responsibility, threw them baby showers, and accommodated their religious observances. Their neighbors kept silent so as not to offend.
“If, after opening our hearts and country, they thank us with bullets and bloodshed, then we have gotten it all wrong.
“Henceforth, we will halt immigration from everywhere until we get our immigration house in order and secure our borders. I will work with Congress to craft new laws that will protect the homeland and will convene a taskforce to evaluate the wisdom of repealing metadata provisions of the Patriot Act.
“I will consider sending troops to the region, will re-establish our operations on the ground, and, in a few weeks, will present our new war footing against this existential threat.
“To the grieving families—although I have not yet visited with you—their deaths shall not be in vain. We have beaten evil before and shall do it again. We shall do it for James Foley, Fort Hood, and San Bernardino. We shall do it for British soldier Lee Rigby, Charlie Hebdo and Paris. We shall do it for the innocents who have been kidnapped and enslaved, brutalized and massacred.
“Some might say this isn’t our problem, but it is because we are a nation rooted in compassion and freedom; because the terrorists have broadcast their intent to harm us; and because evil—undeterred—will wend its way into every community on every continent.
“Like my predecessor said, this will take a long time. We shouldn’t politicize our response like we did with Iraq and Afghanistan. Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists….We didn’t pass freedom to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for and protected….We must go once more unto the breach….stiffen the sinews and summon up the blood…for these are indeed the times the try men’s souls….We shall not flag or fail. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the fields…We shall never surrender, and … and….”
And, there was President Obama rushing off to his Kennedy Center Awards dinner, tux in tow. As I roused from the deep slumber brought on by his speech and wiped the sleep from my eyes, I realized none of this had happened. I had imagined his speech as it should be, not as it was.
Sally Zelikovsky is a former attorney who founded the San Francisco Tea Party and the Bay Area Patriots in 2009, and was active in Republican and conservative politics in California.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.