Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas on Friday called the killings of four Marines in Tennessee “an act of war.”
Mr. Cruz said in a statement that members of the armed services went to work Thursday, including “four brave Marines” who went to a naval reserve center to perform their duties.
“But one of the young people who visited two of those facilities was not like the others,” said Mr. Cruz, a 2016 GOP presidential candidate. “He was there not to volunteer to serve America, but to attack America. Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez was there to carry out jihad, an act of radical Islamic terrorism. An act of war, in which those four brave Marines lost their lives, while at least two others were wounded.”
Authorities are looking into possible ties to terrorist groups that Abdulazeez, reportedly born in Kuwait, might have had before he attacked two Navy facilities Thursday, killing four Marines and injuring several other people.
Mr. Cruz said the Obama administration was “woefully reluctant” to label 2009 attacks on military facilities in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Fort Hood, Texas, acts of radical Islamic terrorism and noted that Purple Hearts were awarded to the victims of the attacks this year.
“We cannot afford to wait six years to recognize what happened yesterday in Chattanooga for what it was,” Mr. Cruz said. “We need to see with clarity right now what has happened.”
SEE ALSO: Federal authorities search for terror ties in Chattanooga shootings
Mr. Cruz said hearings can be held on the need for enlisted men and women to have the right be armed in military facilities — an idea top lawmakers said Friday they will address in this year’s defense policy bill — and said Congress can pass legislation he’s pushed to strip U.S. citizenship from Americans who travel overseas to train with terrorists.
“We can thoroughly overhaul our broken immigration system that is allowing this type of individual to gain citizenship,” he said. “And we can accept the reality that while we might wish it otherwise, the forces of radical Islam are at war with us.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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