(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) US President Barack Obama has vowed to escalate air strikes on the radical Islamic movement, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and eventually crush the group that has threatened the Baghdad central government and US interests and citizens.
In a speech made to the American public, late on Wednesday, President Obama discussed his strategy "to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
"I know many Americans are concerned about these threats", said Obama. "Tonight, I want you to know that the United States of America is meeting them with strength and resolve." The President voiced his initial efforts to begin with the US expanding airstrikes to ISIL targets in Syria and focus on additional locations in Iraq. "This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven," Obama asserted.
He also plans deploying 475 additional military personnel to Iraq in order to assess how the US can support Iraqi security forces with training, intelligence and equipment. These troops will not participate in combat missions.
In Syria, Obama asked the US Congress to approve additional resources that will be used to train Syrian opposition fighters against the militants. "In the fight against ISIL, we cannot rely on the Assad regime that terrorizes its people; a regime that will never regain the legitimacy it has lost," he stressed.
In the week leading up to this speech, Obama placed a strong emphasis on creating an international coalition of forces to which he affirmed, "Already, allies are flying planes with us over Iraq; sending arms and assistance to Iraqi security forces and the Syrian opposition; sharing intelligence; and providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid." The President indicated that Secretary of State John Kerry met with the new government in Iraq on Wednesday and pledged the US support. Kerry will now travel across the Middle East and Europe to "enlist more partners in this fight." Obama urged Arab nations to join the coalition because it can "help mobilize Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria to drive these terrorists from their lands." In light of ISIL's videos depicting the beheadings of two American journalists, Americans have been concerned about an increased chance of a terrorist attack to hit the country. In response, Obama affirmed that he will continue to draw on the US' counterterrorism capabilities and will chair a meeting at the UN Security Council, "to further mobilize the international community around this effort." Obama reiterated, "It will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL." In a report released Wednesday before Obama's strategy was announced, expert Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said, "He (Obama) is now formally announcing a strategy that the United States not only had already developed in July, but partly begun to implement after the Islamic State." Cordesman indicated that ISIL now consists of a maximum 30,000 to 45,000 men to which only a third are highly skilled forces.
As a result, Cordesman believes the US, "still faces as much of a threat from the weakness of the Iraqi Government as it does from the threat of the Islamic State, and cannot really commit fully to aiding Iraq until it is clear there is a real national government that can win broad support." In its aftermath, the speech received mixed reviews from his colleagues and experts on US foreign affairs. Political pundit's critiques ranged from claiming the president's language as too vague to applauding him for using such strong language.
Obama has been open about the lack of cooperation between his administration and the US Congress. His peer, Speaker of the House John Boehner, openly voiced his criticism of Obama's remarks, "While the president presented a compelling case for action, many questions remain about the way in which the president intends to act," said Boehner in a statement. "I remain concerned that those measures could take time to fully implement at a time when ISIL's momentum and territorial gains need to be immediately halted." Former White House Spokesperson under Obama and now a CNN Senior Political Analyst, Jay Carney affirmed, "President Obama made clear that he was opposed to going into Iraq but didn't oppose war itself." Carney additionally mentioned that the speech was "more forceful than I expected." To date, the US has conducted a total of 154 air strikes against ISIL's targets with the most being in Mosul dam. As a result, the US has damaged or destroyed 162 ISIL's vehicles, 21 weapons systems and 29 facilities, according to the Department of Defense.
This speech was presented on the anniversary of the eve of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
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