Defeating ISIS on every front

Radical Islam is a threat to the United States, and our first and No. 1 priority must be and should always be keeping the American people safe. What occurred in San Bernardino, Calif. is a tragedy. As Americans, we all rally behind and give our support and deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.

{mosads}The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-inspired terrorist female was in the United States on the K-1 fiancee visa. Despite using a fake address on her application, she was still granted a full visa from the Department of Homeland Security. This is a clear indication of our inability to properly vet those seeking to come to the United States, which is why we cannot and must not accept refugees from Syria. This shooting not only confirms that ISIS’s mission has been brought to our shore, but also confirms they have been able to get a radicalized Islamic terrorist through our vetting system.

The president used his Oval Office address to call for gun control measures. However, the weapons used in the San Bernardino terrorist attack were illegal and making it more difficult for good and innocent people to attain weapons will not stop those who seek to do us harm from getting them illegally. It is our Second Amendment right to bear arms, and we should protect and defend that right instead of attempting to diminish it.

Our No. 1 obligation as a nation is to keep the American people safe. However, the president seems incapable of leading the fight against ISIS. He seems oblivious and aloof to the severity of what is at stake and the American people deserve better. The American people deserve and need a leader who will stand up to ISIS with force and annihilate them wherever they are.

It is critical that we defeat ISIS on every front, and the U.S. must lead this effort. We must disable ISIS’s ability to finance and fundraise, we must continue strategic attacks on ISIS’s tactical units and we must combat ISIS’s ability to use social media and other online formats to spread extremist propaganda.

It is critical that we increase bombings of strategic ISIS strongholds in coordination with our allies such as the U.K., France, Germany, Canada and Australia, as well as our regional allies Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

We should create a joint special operations task force that would be able to produce better intelligence, which then generates more targets. As the United States is increasing the number of special operations forces to combat ISIS, it is essential that we encourage our allies to join us in this effort. Special operations forces bring a unique sweep of capabilities that will help us gather critical ground intelligence, further enhance our air campaign and capture ISIS leaders.

The United States is a strong and brave nation. We cannot and should not be silenced into fear by radical Islamic terrorism. We must continue to maintain a position of strength and lead all efforts to defeat ISIS. We are at war, and it is about time for the president to recognize that.

Singleton is a Republican political consultant. He has worked on the presidential campaigns of Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. Follow him on Twitter @Shermichael_.