Sen. Ted Cruz issued a statement following Thursday terrorist attack in Nice, France, saying the Obama administration’s “willful blindness” of radical Islam is putting the country at risk.
“Let us make no mistake about it: Europe is under siege,” the Texas Republican said. “We must redouble our attacks on the ISIS strongholds in Iraq and Syria, but we cannot deceive ourselves that we can isolate ISIS and related terrorist groups in the Middle East. Thanks to a lack of decisive action, that opportunity has passed. As America has focused on limited regional air strikes, ISIS has been playing a longer game. They have used the last two years to establish a network of militants around the world from France to Bangladesh who are now coming to life. They may be in the United States as well.
“We have to remove the blinders and recognize this for what it is: radical Islamic terrorism,” Mr. Cruz said. “We need to stop radicalized individuals from coming into the United States. We need to empower our law enforcement to target this specific threat, whether imported or homegrown. After seven and a half years of the Obama administration denying this danger, it is getting worse, not better. Willful blindness is not a policy.”
Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel deliberately drove a truck into a crowd earlier Thursday during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, killing more than 80 people before he was fatally shot by police. No group has yet claimed responsibility for what has been described as the third major terrorist attack in France since January of last year.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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