Obama announces ‘broad coalition’ to fight Islamic State extremist group

(Washington Post) – President Obama began outlining a sweeping and long-term strategy Wednesday night for combatting the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, launching what could be the biggest counterterrorism campaign of his presidency.

“Tonight, I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade, and ultimately destroy, the terrorist group known as ISIL,” Obama said in a prime-time speech delivered from the White House.

According to prepared remarks, Obama said the offensive against the militant group will not involve combat troops but a “steady, relentless effort” through airstrikes in both countries and support for military partners on the ground.

“In a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in their brutality. They execute captured prisoners. They kill children. They enslave, rape and force women into marriage,” Obama said. “They threatened a religious minority with genocide. In acts of barbarism, they took the lives of two American journalists — Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.”

Obama sought to make clear to a war-weary public that this new offensive will not resemble the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but instead will be more in the vein of other more covert missions against terrorists.

“I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil,” Obama said.

“This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.”

Ahead of Obama’s speech, debate over how to confront the threat moved to Congress Wednesday, where leaders were already debating legislative proposals that could bolster the president’s authority to wage war on the Islamist group. The key proposal would explicitly authorize U.S. military personnel to train foreigners to combat the militants.

If such authority is granted, it is unclear whether American military personnel would be sent into Syria to train those foreign fighters.

Support for Obama’s effort appears to be growing. House Republicans abruptly postponed a vote scheduled for Thursday on a short-term spending bill in which the White House asked that the legal authority to train fighters be included. Republicans deferred the vote to consider Obama’s request.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) signaled Wednesday that he supports legislation to meet Obama’s request. “It’s clear to me that we need to train and equip Syrian rebels and other groups in the Middle East that need some help,” he said.

But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she would support the move only if rebel fighters were trained “out of country” and not in Syria.

Obama has long signaled that he does not believe he needs formal congressional approval to launch airstrikes into Syria, be he is working hard to build support for his plan.

In a sign of intensified White House engagement, the president personally called lawmakers to ask for their support.