U.S. President Barack Obama says intelligence and counterterrorism officials currently have “no specific and credible information” about a possible attack on the homeland.
The president again sought to reassure Americans about the security risk at home after the terror attacks in Paris in November and in San Bernardino, California earlier this month.
Speaking at the National Counterterrorism Center in McLean, Virginia on Thursday, President Obama told Americans - as many begin travel for the holidays and prepare to usher in the new year - they should remember there are “dedicated patriots” working around the clock to protect them.
Before briefing the media, Obama met with his national security team at the center where he received an update on the probe into the San Bernardino massacre and efforts to prevent terror attacks at home and abroad.
He described the center as a “hub” of intelligence gathering and sharing to protect the nation.
WATCH: President Obama discuss terror threat
The president has ordered investigators to “leave no stone unturned” as they work to learn how and why the San Bernardino attacks were carried out. The United States is also continuing its examination of the K-1 visa waiver program, also known as the fiancé visa.
The female attacker in the San Bernardino shooting entered the United States through the fiancé visa waiver program and later married the man with whom she carried out the attack.
Obama noted that while many Americans may not be aware of it, intelligence and counterterrorism officials have taken in terrorists, disrupted plots, thwarted attacks and saved lives.
The president has addressed the U.S. public multiple times since the San Bernardino terror attack, which has raised questions about the effectiveness of the Obama administration’s counterterrorism strategy at home and abroad.
Obama has been working to build up an international coalition to battle the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria.
“We will do everything in our power” to prevent terrorists from getting into the U.S.," he said Thursday.
He again urged Americans to not give in to fear and said the latest attacks “only stiffen our resolve” to learn everything possible from them and make improvements where needed.
