That, Obama said, was the goal of the ongoing airstrikes he ordered more than a year ago against this jihadist Sunni group.
Advertisement
“We hope that they refocus their attention on what is the most substantial threat, and that they serve as a constructive partner”, Obama said of Russian Federation.
He added that Hollande was “upbeat and can-do” while Obama was “discouraging and lawyerly” as he played down the threat of terrorism, opting for “Lake Michigan cool” while Hollande brought “Mediterranean heat”. He said Turkey had a right to defend its borders, but harbors no aggressive intent.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And the President has also continued to speak out strongly, including yesterday with Francois Hollande, the French President, against the idea of those who are saying that we should put a pause button, put a hold on Syrian refugees coming into the United States. In addition, he tried to persuade Russian Federation into fight against global terrorism rather than attacking Syrian rebels near the Turkish border. He’ll meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday.
He acknowledged that after the attacks earlier this month, there were fears that this could be replicated in the U.S. and vowed to keep his nation safe.
Meanwhile, police in France said they were analysing what is thought to be a suicide belt similar to those used in the Paris attacks, found without its detonator in a dustbin in the Montrouge suburb of the capital. “But that’s not enough”.
President Obama pledged yesterday that the United States and its allies will “win” the battle against the Islamic State as he faces mounting pressure to escalate the fight against terrorist extremists in the wake of a series of bloody tragedies. “Diplomatically, we are working on a credible political transition in Syria within the framework of the Vienna process”, he said.
The furious president branded the incident as a “stab in the back” committed by “accomplices of terrorists” and accused Turkey of protecting ISIS with its military.
They are Ernie Audino, a retired brigadier general in the United State Army, and Hardin Lang, a senior fellow at American Progress, where he focuses on U.S. national security.
Russia’s increasingly large role in the Syrian civil war would get even bigger if the US became an ally, but that’s become increasingly unlikely because of civilian casualties. Hollande believes “it must be as soon as possible”.
“Obama says, it’s this kind of slow, contained, run ’em down kind of strategy and the ISIS strategy is ‘Well, as long as we’re standing and the black flag is flying, we’re winning, ‘” he explained.
The attacks in Paris on Friday the thirteenth of November, which featured a multi-pronged attack that murdered at least 132 people, demonstrated Islamic State’s serious capabilities, Obama said.
Advertisement
Closing two days of talks with world leaders, the president forcefully dismissed calls from critics – including some Republican presidential candidates – to send United States of America ground troops into Syria. But he acknowledged Tuesday that there was a need to tighten Europe’s open borders.
