Daily Times

MANCHESTER: Republican Donald Trump on Monday said people with roots in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Somalia pose threats to the United States. Pointing to specific incidents such as the September 11, 2001, attacks, Trump said threats were posed by people with roots in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.

Defending his immigration ban, he said it would last until “we are in a position to properly screen these people coming into our country. “They’re pouring in, and we don’t know what we’re doing.” Trump placed responsibility for the mass shooting in Florida squarely at the feet of radical Muslims, who he said were entering the country amidst a flood of refugees and “trying to take over our children.”

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee drew on the country’s deadliest mass shooting to sharpen his vow to ban Muslim immigrants, proposing that the United States suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is “a proven history of terrorism.” In his national security speech, Trump said it was time to “tell the truth about radical Islam,” the day after 49 people were killed at a gay nightclub in Orlando by a gunman, likely self-radicalised, who had sworn allegiance to the rebel group Islamic State.

Trump’s hard-line proposals on immigration have helped fuel his surge in popularity among some conservative voters. But they have also triggered heavy condemnation from minority and human rights activists, and his political opponents – many of whom have called his rhetoric racist. Trump has rejected the criticism, and has said he is often misunderstood by the media and his opponents. In her response to the Florida massacre, Clinton warned against demonising Muslim Americans and called for increased efforts to remove IS propaganda from the internet, more air strikes in areas held by the group and better coordination with allies in the region.

“The Orlando terrorist may be dead, but the virus that poisoned his mind remains very strong, and we must attack it,” she said in a speech in Cleveland. She specifically criticised three US allies – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait – for allowing its citizens to fund mosques and schools that train jihadists. She also proposed stricter gun control laws, reiterating previous calls to prohibit people on terrorism watch lists from buying firearms. She pointed out that while the Federal Bureau of Investigation was aware of Mateen as a possible threat, he was still able to purchase a gun legally.