WASHINGTON, Dec 4 : US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that radical Islam’s ambition to “control more territories and people” poses an “imminent threat” to the world.
He also announced that the US will restrict visas for those who “direct, authorize, fund, or support violence against Christians” in Nigeria and globally.
In an interview with Fox News, Rubio described radical Islamists as the greatest threat to the United States, claiming they view the country as “the chief source of evil on earth.”
“The idea that radical Islam would be content simply controlling some province in Iraq or Syria is not borne out by history. Radical Islam has shown that their desire is not just to occupy one part of the world and be satisfied with their own little caliphate, they want to expand. It is revolutionary in nature, seeking to control more territories and more people. Radical Islam has designs, openly, on the West, on the United States, on Europe. They are prepared to conduct acts of terrorism-in the case of Iran, nation-state actions, assassinations, murders, you name it-whatever it takes to gain influence and ultimately dominate different cultures and societies,” Rubio said.
“This is a clear and imminent threat to the world and the broader West, but especially to the United States. Their hatred of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain stems from the fact that these nations have partnered with the United States,” he added.
He pointed out that radicals consider people from West as “infidels and they hate Israel, they seek to attack it”.
Highlighting the domestic terrorist attacks in the United States, he said that the the overwhelming majority have been inspired by radical Islamic viewpoints.
On the issue of vetting of Afghan officials, he said that some people in the United States, “born here, that have been radicalized. But I do think it is a higher threat among people that come from cultures and backgrounds that make them – make it harder for them to assimilate once they get into the United States, and that make them vulnerable to Arabic-language, for example, propaganda by ISIS or al-Qaida or any of these other groups that are looking to radicalize people”.
” You take 100,000 people from anywhere in the world, and you’re going to have some percentage of them that turn out bad. Either they turn into criminals or potentially terrorists. I think that threat is heightened when you come from places that have terrorist movements that would target these people for radicalization once they enter our country.”
Rubio further warned that radical Islamists are “prepared to conduct acts of terrorism, assassination, and murder” to achieve dominance over different cultures and societies.
Announcing US visa restrictions, Rubio emphasized that the action targets individuals “who knowingly direct, authorize, fund, support, or carry out violations of religious freedom” against Christians in Nigeria and elsewhere.
In a post on X, he wrote: “The United States is taking decisive action in response to the atrocities and violence against Christians in Nigeria and around the world. The StateDept will restrict U.S. visas for those who knowingly direct, authorize, fund, support, or carry out violations of religious freedom. This policy applies to Nigeria and other governments or individuals that persecute people for their religious beliefs.”
US President Donald Trump warned that Washington could consider military action against Nigeria, claiming Christians in the country were being deliberately targeted and killed.
(UNI)
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