on Wednesday vows to "destroy" the Islamic State (IS) in a prime-time address to the nation that sought to restore eroding U.S. public confidence in his leadership and ability to safeguard national security.
During the address, the president announced a "systematic campaign of airstrikes" against fighters with the IS "wherever they exist," signalling the United States' targets will expand from Iraq to Syria.
Under the strategy, U.S. will not hesitate to take action against IS in Syria, as well as Iraq, said Obama during the 15-minute address at the White House.
"I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country wherever they are," the president said.
One month after authorizing U.S. military to conduct airstrikes against the IS or ISIL forces in Iraq, Obama reemphasized core principle of his presidency by saying that: "If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven."
"Last month, I ordered our military to take targeted action against ISIL to stop its advances," Obama said, noting "these strikes have protected American personnel and facilities, killed ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons, and given space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory".
"America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat,"Obama declared. "Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy."
The United States will do with its friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy IS forces, which poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East, including American citizens, personnel and facilities, according to the president.
"This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years," he said.
Meanwhile, the strategy will also enforce U.S. support to Iraqi forces fighting IS terrorists on the ground.
"We will send an additional 475 service members to Iraq," he said,reiterating that it will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.
"As I have said before, these American forces will not have a combat mission. We will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq. But they are needed to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and equipment," Obama said.
He acknowledged the IS forces were "unique in their brutality" and said the killing of the U.S. journalists was representative of their "acts of barbarism."
He also said the intelligence community believed thousands of foreign fighters have taken up arms alongside IS and could return to their home countries.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found 94 percent of voters surveyed were aware of the execution of the journalists, and six in 10 support a U.S. military campaign against the IS group.
Obama also stressed that his administration was working hard to bring in international support for the mission and said allies within Iraq and Syria would ultimately be responsible for their own security.
On Wednesday, France said it would participate in airstrikes against IS if needed. Germany announced it was sending lethal aid to Kurdish fighters and Saudi Arabia has offered to host a U.S. training facility to assist the moderate Syrian opposition.
In addition, Obama called on Congress in his address to grant the Pentagon additional authority to run that training site, saying the U.S.must strengthen the Syrian opposition as the best counterweight to extremists like IS.
But the administration's request has already divided Congress, and efforts to include it as part of a stopgap spending bill led Republican leaders to punt a vote on measure to next week.
The president argued that he had the legal authority to pursue his military strategy without additional congressional action, though he also encouraged any bid by Congress to explicitly authorize or fund the mission.
"I believe we are strongest as a nation when the president and Congress work together," Obama said. "So I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger."
Some U.S. experts hold a view that Obama and his administration will get legislative support from Congress for his IS plan.
"Public outrage over this terrorism will unite Democrats and Republicans. Few legislators can afford to play politics with such a dangerous organization," said Darrell West, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Obama deserves credit for getting tough on IS, he said, adding that Obama's vow to pursue them wherever they raise problems will be well received by the American public.
JERUSALEM, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss ways of handling the threat posed by the Islamic State (IS) on Israel, an Israeli official said.Full story
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama told top lawmakers Tuesday that he has the authority he needs to take action against Islamic State (IS) militants.Full story
PARIS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday said dispatching French forces on the ground to fight Islamic State fighters in Iraq was possible as part of the international community efforts to curb terrorism in the region.
Asked by the local broadcaster Europe 1 if Paris intended to send ground troops in the conflict-torn Arab country, Le Drian said: "We'll not state how we are acting; we'll see when it will happen."Full story
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