WATCH: President Obama Lays Out His Plan for Taking Down ISIS
By ERIN DOOLEY, MARY BRUCE and MICHAEL FALCONE
In an address to the nation Wednesday, President Obama laid out his most detailed plan yet to "lead a broad coalition" to confront the vexing problem of ISIS, the militant group that executed American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff in Syria and terrorized civilians in Syria and neighboring Iraq.
“I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are,” the president said from the White House. “This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”
ANALYSIS: Obama Plays Catch-Up With Public and Himself on ISIS
Here’s Obama's four-point plan to destroy ISIS:
AMPING UP AIRSTRIKES
- The president vowed to expand the air campaign beyond its original two missions: protecting Americans and providing humanitarian aid. Now, airstrikes will be used a part of a broader effort to “roll back” ISIS in Iraq.
- The military will not be constrained by the Syrian border, Obama said. The U.S. plans to “hunt down terrorists who threaten our country wherever they are” – including in Syria.
STRENGTHENING TROOPS
- The president plans to send an additional 475 U.S. service members to Iraq to assist Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS there. Troops will build on the work of assessment teams already in place in Baghdad and Erbil, teams embedded with Iraqi security forces, and existing surveillance assets, but will not be introduced into combat.
- “We will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq,” the president assured the American people. “Anytime we take military action, there are risks involved, especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions,” he acknowledged, adding that this effort “will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.”
- Obama also called on Congress to authorize “ramping up” a mission to equip and train the moderate Syrian opposition.
- “I have the authority to address the treat from ISIL,” Obama declared. Nevertheless, the president requested Congressional support, saying, “I believe we are strongest as a nation when the President and Congress work together.”
PREVENTING TERROR
- The U.S. will draw on a range of counterterrorism tactics to prevent attacks on the homeland, including cutting off ISIS's funding and improving American intelligence.
- It will also take steps to counter ISIS’ “warped” ideology, Obama vowed. “Let’s make two things clear,” said the president. “ISIL is not ‘Islamic.’ No religion condones the killing of innocents … [ISIS] is a terrorist organization, pure and simple.”
- The U.S. will work to “stem the flow of foreign fighters” traveling to and from the region, President Obama promised.
PROTECTING CIVILIANS
In the interest of protecting ancient communities, such as Iraqi Christians, the United States’ humanitarian efforts will continue, Obama said.
His address came exactly one year after another pivotal presidential speech urging a targeted military action against Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad, who allegedly used chemical weapons against his own people.
“We continue to face a terrorist threat,” President Obama said from the White House. “We can’t erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today. That’s why we must remain vigilant as threats emerge.”