BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. President Barack Obama says the country will expand its offensive against Islamic State militants, authorizing more military airstrikes in Syria. In a prime-time address to the nation, Obama said the US will confront Islamic State militants "wherever they exist."
Obama authorized U.S. airstrikes inside Syria for the first time on Wednesday night, along with expanded strikes in Iraq.
"Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy. We will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense," Obama said.
Obama announced that he will dispatch nearly 500 more U.S. troops to Iraq to assist the country’s besieged security forces. That would bring the total number of American forces deployed there this summer to more than 1,000.
"They are needed to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and equipment. We will also support Iraq’s efforts to strengthen National Guard Units to help Sunni communities secure their own freedom from ISIL’s control," Obama said.
Obama said he held the authority to conduct airstrikes under the authorization for military action from Congress in 2011. But he added that Congress needed to authorize the train-and-equip mission for the Syrian rebels. He is pressing for a quick vote.
There is no set timeline for when the mission will be completed. Officials say it could take several years to roll back the Islamic State organization, potentially extending the mission beyond the end of Obama’s presidency in early 2017.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
|
