Obama: Airstrikes against ’ISIL’ Wherever It Exists

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday outlined his plan to authorize broader US military involvement for hunting down the fighters of the terrorist "ISIL" group in Iraq, Syria and "wherever they exist."

In a public address to the American people, Obama announced that the US will "conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists."

"I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are," Obama stated. "That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven."

The US president's strategy in Syria will also be to support opposition forces, and he again called on Congress to give the US government "additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters."
To ensure that the Syrian opposition fighters are trained and equipped well enough to hold the ground taken from the ISIL terrorists, at least $500 million in a Department of Military program are stipulated in a $5 billion Counterterrorism Partnership Fund request, according to the White House.

In the meantime, US President Obama's strategy in Iraq will be to support the Iraqi government 's fight against the ISIL, as Iraqis will be the ones to ultimately defeat the group in their country, he said. "Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions so that we're hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense," he said.

Obama also announced he is sending another "475 service members to Iraq to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and equipment. "
"These service members will join the several hundred American service members sent to Iraq in June to assess how best to support Iraqi Security," he added. The plan, however, still does not involve "American combat troops fighting on foreign soil," the US president said.
Obama called on Congress to authorize the plan to train and equip the rebels - something the Central Intelligence Agency has been doing covertly and on a much smaller scale - but he asserted his authority as commander in chief to expand the overall campaign, which will bring the number of American troops in Iraq to 1,600.

"These American forces will not have a combat mission; we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq," Obama pledged, adding that the mission "will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; it will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil."
Instead, the military campaign will be boosted and waged "through a steady, relentless effort to take out [the ISIL] wherever they exist using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground."

The US President emphasized that he will not hesitate to take direct military action against terrorists in Syria and Iraq to "degrade ISIL's leadership, logistically and operational capability, and deny it sanctuary and resources to plan, prepare and execute attacks."
Following the ISIL's rapid advances and propagandist threats to attack the US and assassinate American citizens, Obama has pledged to hunt down, degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team