President Barack Obama vowed the United States will “do what’s necessary to take the fight” to ISIS in a speech from the White House on Tuesday after the U.S. commenced airstrikes on terrorist targets in Syria last night.
The president promised to take action to the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria, stating, “Earlier this month I outlined for the American people our strategy to confront the threat posed by the terrorist group known as ISIL. I made clear that as part of this campaign the United States will take action against targets in both Iraq and Syria so that these terrorists can’t find safe haven anywhere.” And “The overall effort will take time. There will be challenges ahead, but we’re going to do what’s necessary to take the fight to this terrorist group for the security of the country and the region and for the entire world.”
Obama additionally declared, “We will move forward with our plans supported by bipartisan majorities in Congress to ramp up our effort to train and equip the Syrian opposition who are the best counterweight to ISIL and the Assad regime.”
The president also stressed the anti-ISIS coalition built by the United States, saying, “We were joined in this action by our friends and partners Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, and Qatar. America is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these nations on behalf of our common security. The strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not America’s fight alone … over 40 nations have offered to help in this comprehensive effort to confront this terrorist threat, to take out terrorist targets, to train and equip Iraqi and Syrian opposition fighters who are going up against ISIL on the ground, to cut off ISIL’s financing, to counter its hateful ideology, and to stop the flow of fighters into and out of the region.” He further promised to “continue building support for the coalition that is confronting this serious threat to our peace and security.”
Obama also thanked American troops for their sacrifices in the fight against terrorism: “Today the American people give thanks for the extraordinary service of our men and women in uniform including the pilots who flew these missions with the courage and professionalism that we’ve come to expect from the finest military that the world has ever known.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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