Speaking after a briefing on Thursday from his top national security advisers on the expanding war against ISIS in Iraq, Syria and most recently Libya, where United States planes have been bombing in support of a government offensive near Sirte, Mr Obama pledged the militant group would “inevitably” be crushed and said the US-led coalition would continue to aggressively target the militants “across every front”.
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“None of ISIL’s leaders are safe”, Obama said, “and we’re going to keep going after them”.
“In stark contrast to ISIL, which uses civilians as human shields, America’s armed forces will continue to do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties”, the president said.
“And I think the entire world was inspired this past Sunday when Muslims across France joined their Catholic neighbors at Mass, and in a moving display of solidarity, prayed together”.
“As we have seen, it is hard to prevent small cells of terrorists willing to kill the innocent and (who) are willing to die”.
The president’s session at the Pentagon occurred as the US was bombing targets in and around the Libyan city of Sirte, a notable expansion of the USA -led coalition’s military mission against IS. The goal of the road show at the Pentagon is to illustrate the multifaceted USA approach to defeating the Islamic State.
Obama announced no new initiatives or accelerants against Isis after his meeting at the Pentagon, but defended two security policies that have come under recent criticism: diplomacy with both Iran and Russian Federation.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden made the short trip across the Potomac River to sit down with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, CIA Director John Brennan and other Cabinet secretaries.
A cease-fire backed by the US and Russian Federation earlier this year has been marred by continuing violence carried out by the Syrian regime and opposition fighters. “That’s why we’re working to counter violent extremism more broadly, including the social, economic and political factors that help fuel groups like ISIL and al-Qaida in the first place”. But he predicted that the terrorist networks it spawns are likely to continue trying to launch assaults after the organizations loses its major strongholds in Iraq and Syria. Earlier this week, USA warplanes destroyed tanks, military vehicles and earth-moving equipment.
“As ISIL is beaten back, we’re gaining vast amounts of intelligence; thousands of documents, thumb drives, digital files, which we will use to keep destroying ISIL’s networks and stop foreign fighters”, Obama said.
Despite the massive effort, the jihadists still hold Mosul – Iraq’s second-largest city – and the Syrian city of Raqqa.
USA and allied warplanes have conducted more than 600 airstrikes on Manbij, Army Col. Chris Garver told reporters on Wednesday. They have taken key territory from ISIL and are preparing campaigns against ISIL in Mosul.
Since the president’s last Pentagon visit, US -backed Iraqi and Syrian forces have recaptured significant portions of their countries from the Islamic State, attempting to isolate the terrorist group in its strongholds of Mosul and Raqqa. “It is deplorable”, Obama said.
Russian bombing of USA trained groups in Syria has also dramatically undermined Washington’s moral and military standing. There have been 15 cases in the Miami area. But the complications for pregnant women and their children can be severe. The payment, he said, was announced by the White House in January, and this “was not some nefarious deal”.
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“We do not pay ransom for hostages”, Obama said, treating the account as a proxy for criticism of his 2015 accord to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program, which he challenged his critics to admit had worked. The one piece of news was that the money was paid in cash, he said, and that is because the United States had a strict sanctions regime against Iran at the time that prohibited wire transfers or normal bank relationships. But, it is the law and the tradition for a candidate to receive this information, Obama said, which helps the ultimate victor better prepare for the position.
