Obama: Terrorists Turning to ‘Less Complicated Acts’ Like ‘the Mass Shootings that Are All Too Common’

‘As we’ve become better at preventing complex, multifaceted attacks like 9/11, terrorists turn to less complicated acts of violation, like the mass shootings that are all too common in our society’

"Our military and counterterrorism professionals have relentlessly pursued terrorist networks overseas, disrupting safe havens in several different countries, killing Osama bin Laden, and decimating Al Qaeda's leadership. Over the last few years, however, the terrorist threat has evolved into a new phase. As we've become better at preventing complex, multifaceted attacks like 9/11, terrorists turn to less complicated acts of violation, like the mass shootings that are all too common in our society. It is this type of attack that we saw at Ft. Hood in 2009, in Chattanooga earlier this year, and now in San Bernardino. And as groups like ISIL grew stronger amidst the chaos of war in Iraq and Syria, and as the Internet erases the distance between countries, we see growing efforts by terrorists to poison the minds of people like the Boston marathon bombers and the San Bernardino killers."

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