U.S. President Barack Obama says he will outline his 'game plan' to deal with the threat posed by Islamic State militants this week.
Obama told NBC television's Meet the Press in an interview broadcast Sunday he will meet with congressional leaders Tuesday to discuss the matter. He then plans a speech Wednesday on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Obama stressed the U.S. does not plan to send ground troops into Iraq.
"We are going to be, as part of an international coalition, carrying out air strikes in support of work on the ground of Iraqi troops, Kurdish troops, we are going to be helping to put together a plan for them so they can start retaking territory that ISIL had taken over," Obama said. "What I want people to understand is that over the course of months we are going to be able to blunt the momentum of ISIL. We are going to systematically degrade their capabilities, we're going shrink the territory that they control and ultimately we're going to defeat them."
The president made clear the U.S. has not seen any intelligence about immediate threats to the homeland from the Islamic State, saying "That's not what this is about."
"What it's about is an organization that if allowed to control significant amount of territory, to amass more resources, more arms, to attract more foreign fighters, including from areas like Europe including Europeans who have visas and then can travel to the United States unimpeded, that over time that can be a serious threat to the homeland,'' said Obama.
Some lawmakers have called for the president to expand the air campaign against the group to include targets in Syria.
In the past two weeks, Islamic State has released footage of the beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, saying they were in retaliation for U.S. air strikes on their positions in Iraq. The group is also threatening to kill a British captive.
Immigration comments
During his Meet the Press interview, Obama discussed several other topics, including immigration.
He said he is not delaying executive action on immigration until after the November elections for any political reason or to improve Democrats’ chances of keeping control of the U.S. Senate. He said he wants to make sure any action he takes on immigration is done correctly and that it is sustainable.
Obama said far fewer people are being apprehended coming across the southern border than were a decade ago and that many Americans have become convinced the situation is a crisis because they are not being given all the facts.
Obama said in terms of unaccompanied children, the United States has systematically worked through the problem. He said the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the southern border in the United States was now below where it was a year ago.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Obama to Outline 'Game Plan' Against IS Militants
U.S. President Barack Obama says he will outline his 'game plan' to deal with the threat posed by Islamic State militants this week.
Obama told NBC television's Meet the Press in an interview broadcast Sunday he will meet with congressional leaders Tuesday to discuss the matter. He then plans a speech Wednesday on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Obama stressed the U.S. does not plan to send ground troops into Iraq.
"We are going to be, as part of an international coalition, carrying out air strikes in support of work on the ground of Iraqi troops, Kurdish troops, we are going to be helping to put together a plan for them so they can start retaking territory that ISIL had taken over," Obama said. "What I want people to understand is that over the course of months we are going to be able to blunt the momentum of ISIL. We are going to systematically degrade their capabilities, we're going shrink the territory that they control and ultimately we're going to defeat them."
The president made clear the U.S. has not seen any intelligence about immediate threats to the homeland from the Islamic State, saying "That's not what this is about."
"What it's about is an organization that if allowed to control significant amount of territory, to amass more resources, more arms, to attract more foreign fighters, including from areas like Europe including Europeans who have visas and then can travel to the United States unimpeded, that over time that can be a serious threat to the homeland,'' said Obama.
Some lawmakers have called for the president to expand the air campaign against the group to include targets in Syria.
In the past two weeks, Islamic State has released footage of the beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, saying they were in retaliation for U.S. air strikes on their positions in Iraq. The group is also threatening to kill a British captive.
Immigration comments
During his Meet the Press interview, Obama discussed several other topics, including immigration.
He said he is not delaying executive action on immigration until after the November elections for any political reason or to improve Democrats’ chances of keeping control of the U.S. Senate. He said he wants to make sure any action he takes on immigration is done correctly and that it is sustainable.
Obama said far fewer people are being apprehended coming across the southern border than were a decade ago and that many Americans have become convinced the situation is a crisis because they are not being given all the facts.
Obama said in terms of unaccompanied children, the United States has systematically worked through the problem. He said the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the southern border in the United States was now below where it was a year ago.
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