[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 8866]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  ISIL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, 7 months ago ISIL terrorists massacred 
130 civilians across the city of Paris, 6 months ago ISIL supporters 
murdered more than a dozen Americans at a holiday party in San 
Bernardino, 3 months ago ISIL bombings killed and maimed 
indiscriminately in the heart of Europe, and then last month ISIL's 
spokesman issued a chilling declaration of war against the Western 
world. He called for attacks--specifically lone wolf attacks--
throughout the month of Ramadan in Europe and the United States. He 
said:

       Get prepared . . . to make it a month of calamity for the 
     nonbelievers. [T]he smallest action you do in their heartland 
     is better and more enduring to us than what you would do if 
     you were with us here.

  On Sunday, a terrorist claiming allegiance to ISIL took 49 American 
lives. The next day, an ISIL supporter in France murdered two people, 
including an off-duty police officer.
  We hope to learn more about the Orlando terrorist attack and the 
depth of that particular terrorist's involvement with ISIL when 
Senators are briefed later today by the FBI Director and the Homeland 
Security Secretary. This much seems clear already: I do not believe 
this was some random act of violence. It seems clear this was a cold-
blooded murder committed by a terrorist who picked his targets with 
deliberate malice, who pledged his allegiance to a group who stones gay 
men and tosses them from rooftops, enslaves women, and crucifies 
children.
  ISIL is not the JV team; it is the personification of evil in our 
world. ISIL is not contained, nor can it be. The way to prevent more 
ISIL-inspired and ISIL-directed heartbreak is to defeat ISIL. This is 
why we have repeatedly demanded a serious plan from the President to 
defeat ISIL and have done what we can to fill the leadership vacuum he 
has left. This is why we worked to strengthen law enforcement, rebuild 
our military, and develop counterterrorism tools designed to save 
lives. The terrorist attack in Orlando underlines the critical 
importance of this work, and it presents each of us with a choice: Do 
we want to make the tough choices to actually solve the problem and 
defeat ISIL, or do we want to use the Senate floor to make a 30-second 
political ad?
  As I said, the principle way to defeat ISIL-inspired or ISIL-directed 
attacks is to defeat ISIL inside Iraq and Syria. The President's 
containment strategy, which has relied primarily upon a ground proxy 
force of Syrian YPG Kurds, will not be sufficient to dislodge ISIL from 
its headquarters in Raqqa or clear and hold ground in Arab parts of 
Syria.
  The next President must do much more, and there are steps we can take 
today to help him or her succeed in that effort. The sweeping Defense 
bill we passed yesterday represents a decisive step in the right 
direction. Not only will it help prepare our next Commander in Chief, 
it will help strengthen military readiness, better enable 
servicemembers to confront threats, and help keep the American people 
safer from an array of national security challenges. Passing that bill 
sent a strong signal to our men and women in uniform, it sent a strong 
signal to our allies, it sent a strong signal to our adversaries, but 
there is more we can and must do.
  This week, through the appropriations process, we will continue to 
discuss ways we can shore up our efforts to fight terrorism. Several 
Republican colleagues have already offered ideas on how we can do so. 
Republicans have offered ideas to address the threat of lone wolf 
attacks like the one we saw in Orlando. Republicans have offered ideas 
to help connect the dots with respect to terrorists' communications. 
Republicans have offered ideas to help disrupt terrorists' plans. These 
are the kinds of things we have long advocated. They were important 
before the horrific events this weekend and are all the more important 
today.
  By passing the underlying appropriations bill, we can provide the FBI 
with more of the support it needs to follow leads generated here within 
our borders. In the meantime, I encourage Senators to work with the 
very capable bill managers who crafted this legislation, the senior 
Senators from Alabama and Maryland. If they have other effective ideas, 
talk to them and try to make the bill even stronger.
  This much is clear: We can choose to respond to terrorist attacks 
after the damage is already done, or we can make it our goal to prevent 
them in the first place. I know my choice. I am going to keep doing 
what I can to prevent the pain and loss from terrorism. Our families 
and communities are counting on us. Our freedoms and rights as 
Americans are counting on it too. We must continue to do what is 
necessary to seek out terrorist threats at every level and protect the 
country we love.

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