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Published January 26, 2017
This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," February 16, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MEGYN KELLY, HOST: Developing details tonight on what is being called yet another terror attack overseas. A gunman in Denmark who reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS leading authorities on a nearly 24-hour manhunt, after targeting a free speech debate in a local cafe and then a synagogue. The shooting rampage left the gunman and two others dead. One of the people inside that cafe was a Swedish artist who once depicted the prophet Muhammad as a dog in a 2007 cartoon. His life has reportedly been under threat ever since. He was not one of the victims.
And while the U.S. has stated unequivocally that this was a terror attack, the Danish prime minister is insisting that this has nothing to do with radical Islam.
Joining us now, Congressman Peter King, Chairman of the house subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence.
Really? Why, why, why is she insisting that?
REP. PETER KING, R-N.Y.: I don't know, Megyn. Because first of all she's a strong ally of the U.S., Denmark cooperates with us very much. And I don't know what her motive would be in doing this other than perhaps she wants to wait until the legal authorities, law enforcement pronounces it a terrorist attack. But clearly it is, I mean...
KELLY: How much more evidence do you need?
KING: Yeah. Everything is there. Whatever you need is there. So, again, unless there's some peculiarity in Danish law, I don't know, because to me...
(CROSSTALK)
KELLY: Listen, you tell me, Congressman, what this speaks to, what this seems to speak to is the general reluctance to call this what it is. Why is it so hard for so many of these world leaders to identify the enemy we face?
KING: Well Megyn, we can start here in our own country. President Obama refuses to say Islamist terrorism. Back when Major Hassan murdered all those people and shouted Allah Akbar at President Obama's -- they called it workplace violence. He refuses to this day to say Islamic terrorism, Islamic violence. All I can say is that there's a political correctness which unfortunately has just captured political debate, people afraid of being called racist or bigot or whatever -- this makes no sense to me. If we don't identify the enemy, we're not going to defeat the enemy and this is an enemy we have to destroy. We can't be holding back at all.
KELLY: What the incident in Denmark shows with the incident in Paris with Charlie Hebdo shows and so on, is that, if you have a madman, radical Islamist, whoever it is, that wants to commit murder, it's very hard to stop them. They make up their minds. They go on these suicide missions. And then they do it. The key is Intel, in advance if you can get it, chatter that kind of thing. General Keane was on the program at the top of the hour saying where are the ISIS detainees? Where are they? We're not shipping anybody down to Gitmo. Where are we keeping anybody from whom we're getting Intel? What's the answer to that?
KING: We have to get more Intel. First of all we need more people on the ground in the Middle East itself, secondly we have to rather than just killing people try to capture them, as many as we can to get Intel out of them. Also what I think is shown in Paris and Denmark is that -- look for people who have shown any type of radical tendencies apparently in prison. This murderer, this terrorist (inaudible) converts to Islam or radical Islam or was greatly influenced.
When I was chairman of the homeland security committee, we had hearings on radicalizations in prisons. This person seems to be an example of that, came out of prison a radicalized Muslim. And so I think there has to be much more Intel in the prisons themselves. That's one thing. Secondly, get Intel on the ground like the NYPD and continues to do here in New York on the ground, in the areas where the terror threat is going to come from because once they start --
KELLY: Let me ask you, how confident are you that that is still going on? With you know, the policies, the reforms that President Obama and Eric Holder have put in place and the reforms that Mayor Bill de Blasio has put in place? How confident are you that we're still getting the intel that we need?
KING: My confidence to New York, I believe Bill Bratton is doing what he can. There's no doubt Mayor de Blasio wanted to do was definitely hold back the NYPD, with what the New York Times wanted to do would hold them back. But I believe the infrastructure of the NYPD is still continuing to do it but more difficult for them because of the fact people on top, those civilians, don't want to go ahead with this. That's been a real issue on why we're doing that. Again, this is pandering to political correctness, New York Times, civil liberties union and people like Bill de Blasio when he was campaigning. But again, fortunately there is enough of a permanent infrastructure in the NYPD that's keep it going, whether or not that can continue over the next few years is going to be tough.
KELLY: Congressman Pete King. Good to see you, sir.
KING: Megyn, thank you.
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