After receiving an update Monday on the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), President Obama pointed to evidence that the terrorist group is losing ground in the Middle East.
Advertisement
“As we squeeze its heart, we’ll make it harder for ISIL to pump its terror and propaganda to the rest of the world”, Obama insisted at the Pentagon, after meeting top military and national security advisors. It’s a fight, Obama says the U.S.is stepping up from the air…”Last month in November, we dropped more bombs on ISIL targets than any other month since this campaign started”, Obama says.
Pelley ended the brief before going to a field report from correspondent Charlie D’Agata on the frontlines against ISIS by adding: “Mr. Obama said that he is accelerating the war in Syria and Iraq after ISIS bombed a Russian jetliner, directed the attack in Paris, and inspired another in San Bernardino”.
“Terrorists like ISIL are trying to divide us along lines of religion and background”, Obama said in his weekly address, using an acronym for the extremist group.
Republican presidential candidates have hammered Obama’s response to ISIS, while Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton has distanced herself from Obama comments that ISIS has been “contained”.
A large majority wanted to see a clearer explanation from President Barack Obama about his strategy to defeat the group.
The president’s appearance at the Pentagon was part of a weeklong push to explain his strategy for stopping the Islamic State group overseas and its sympathizers at home. Obama’s aides were also holding separate meetings at the White House with Muslim leaders and with Sikh leaders.
“We recognize that progress needs to keep coming faster”, said Obama.
The poll found in that the share of Americans who favor deploying US troops to fight the Islamic State has risen from 31 % to 42 % over the past yr in AP-GfK polling, though it isn’t clear whether or not these respondents favor a little contingent or a bigger ground force which may interact in another protracted Middle Japanese war. He said he was dispatching Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to the Mideast to get more involvement from Arab partners, and also sending Secretary of State John Kerry to Moscow to engage Russian President Vladimir Putin on a political settlement in Syria. Forty-four percent said they think another terrorist attack in the U.S.in the next few months is very likely, 16 percentage points up from two weeks earlier. But the apparent lack of warning before San Bernardino has raised concerns about whether the US has a handle on potential attacks, especially during high-profile times such as the end-of-year holidays.
Predictably, Obama’s speech was panned by Donald Trump and the other Republicans running for president.
At the White House today, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett led a conference call with a “broad array of faith-based organizations” to “discuss efforts to combat discrimination and highlight the need for welcoming all faiths and beliefs”, according to press secretary Josh Earnest.
Advertisement
USA and allied forces have killed several top Islamic State leaders and are targeting the group’s oil resources and its ability to recruit fighters, Obama said in remarks from the Pentagon on Monday.
