US President Barack Obama said the world must not succumb to fear and urging world leaders not to abandon a climate summit in Paris.
US President Barack Obama called Sunday for resolve in the face of heightened terrorist threats, insisting panicked citizens must not succumb to fear and urging world leaders not to abandon a climate summit in Paris.
With Brussels in lockdown, cities from Beirut to Bamako reeling from attacks, and Americans jittery that they too may come under assault, Obama said the world must show steel.
That starts, he said, with leaders who are scheduled to attend climate talks later this month in Paris, where 130 people were killed in one night of blood-soaked violence.
The perpetrators of the Paris attacks were not "masterminds" he said, but rather "a bunch of killers with good social media".
"It's absolutely vital for every country, every leader, to send a signal that the viciousness of a handful of killers does not stop the world from doing vital business," he said.
They must also show that "Paris, one of the most beautiful, enticing cities in the world, is not going to be covered by the violent demented actions of a few".
Facing accusations that he has allowed the Islamic State group to spread by refusing to send US troops to Syria or step up the air campaign there, Obama made pledge to win the fight.
"The American people in the past have confronted some very real, enormous threats. And we beat them. We vanquished them," he said. "This will be no different."
"In addition to hunting down terrorists, in addition to effective intelligence, in addition to missile strikes and in addition to cutting off financing, he said, "the most powerful tool we have to fight ISIL (so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Levant) is to say that we're not afraid."
"They cannot strike a mortal blow against France or the United States or a country like Malaysia, but they can make people fearful," Obama said, speaking in Kuala Lumpur.
Obama was ending a nine-day trip to Turkey and Asia that has been clouded by the Paris terror attacks and credible threats that prompted Belgian authorities to deploy troops and impose a lockdown as they hunt suspects.
