--- title: President Obama Reassures Americans Ahead of Holiday Travel description: He said there is no specific and credible threat to the homeland at this time, and called for national unity and resilience. canonical: https://time.com/4153693/barack-obama-terrorism-security-holidays/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-17T18:25:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:40:27.984Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Reassures Americans Ahead of Holiday Travel og:description: "When Americans stand together, nothing can beat us." og:url: https://time.com/4153693/barack-obama-terrorism-security-holidays/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01224ff7acc8edc0/698875e1a988ca8fd26b5c69/barack-obama-national-counterterrorism-center.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5000 og:image:height: 2813 og:image:alt: US-SECURITY-ATTACKS-OBAMA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Reassures Americans Ahead of Holiday Travel twitter:description: "When Americans stand together, nothing can beat us." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01224ff7acc8edc0/698875e1a988ca8fd26b5c69/barack-obama-national-counterterrorism-center.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Reassures Americans Ahead of Holiday Travel > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=bbfc0877-dcf4-469a-ac01-ff33f8f15a65&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Raw: Obama Says Americans Are Safe During the Holiday Season [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Raw: Obama Says Americans Are Safe During the Holiday Season](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ONxI5Daj.m3u8) (1:58)  _Published 2015-12-17. On Dec. 17, Obama gave a counterterrorism address_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 17, 2015 6:25 PM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 17, 2015 6:25 PM UTC Speaking at the National Counterterrorism Center Thursday, President Obama sought to reassure Americans on national security before the holidays. “After the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino I know that a lot of Americans are anxious, and that’s understandable. That’s natural,” Obama said. “Here’s what I want every American to know: Since 9/11 we’ve taken extraordinary steps to strengthen our homeland security… We have the very best intelligence, counterterrorism, homeland security and law enforcement professionals in the world. Our folks are the best. Across our government these dedicated professionals are relentless 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.” He said that for now, intelligence and counterterrorism officials “do not have any specific and credible information about an attack on the homeland.” Obama also outlined the three fronts in which the United States is fighting ISIS: going after the terrorist leaders abroad, coordinating with European allies to prevent terrorists from entering the United States and other countries, and ramping up efforts to prevent attacks from individuals already in the U.S. The president ended with a call for national unity. “One of our greatest weapons against terrorism is our own strength and resilience as a people,” He said. “It also means staying united as one American family, remembering that our greatest allies in this fight are each other, Americans of all faiths and all backgrounds. When Americans stand together, nothing can beat us.” **Read Next:** [_President Obama Says U.S. Hitting ISIS ‘Harder Than Ever’_](http://time.com/4147492/obama-isis-isil/) ## Transcript I want every American to know, as you go about the holidays, as you travel and gather with family and the kids open their presents, and as you ring in the new year, that you've got dedicated patriots working around the clock all across the country to protect us all. Often times they're doing so by sacrificing their own holidays and their own time with families. But they care about this deeply. We have the very best intelligence, counter terrorism, homeland security, and law enforcement professionals in the world. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Our folks are the best. Over the years they have taken countless terrorists off the battlefield. They have disrupted plots, they've forded attacks, they have saved American lives. And so for everybody who is involved in our counter terrorists efforts, I wanna say thank you. We cannot give in To fear, or change how we live our lives. Because that's what terrorists want. That's the only leverage that they have. They can't defeat us on a battlefield, but they can lead us to change in ways that would undermine what this country is all about. And that's what we have to guard against. We have to remind ourselves that when we stray, stay true to our values, nothing can beat us. We are in a new phase of terrorism. Including alone actors and small groups or terrorists. Like Those in San Bernardino. Because they are smaller, often self initiating, self motivating, they're harder to detect. And that makes it harder to prevent. But just as the threat evolves, so do we. 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