Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Tuesday that the terrorist attacks in Berlin and Turkey required "a Churchill moment" and that people around the world needed to "fight back hard but not be scared of these cowards."
"This is a moment in western civilization or in civilization in general where we need a Churchill moment," the Illinois Republican told Brianna Keilar on CNN. "We're walking along the streets and basically saying we will prevail instead of cowering."
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 12 people and injured 50 others when a truck drove through a Christmas market Monday night.
In Turkey earlier on Monday, Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov was brazenly assassinated at an art exhibit by a man authorities identified as Mevlut Mert Altintas, a member of Ankara's riot police squad.
He was later killed in a shootout with police.
"We have to understand that these attacks are meant to put fear in the hearts of people, to get them to stay in for Christmas and the holidays and to get them to be afraid of ISIS," Kinzinger told Keilar. "We need to fight back hard but not be scared of these cowards."
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Karlov's killing terrorism — and Kinzinger said that: "If you think this is radical Islamic jihadists doing this, maybe join us in the fight against terrorism instead of bombing innocent civilians in Aleppo and bombing hospitals with precision-guided munitions.
"Let's fight ISIS.
"If this is a turning point for Russia, great," the congressman said. "We'd love to see them put bombs on targets against actual terrorists.
"This is an opportunity for Russia to join us in the fight."
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