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White House: Islamic State Strategy Includes Support for Syria Opposition, Iraq

by VOA News September 10, 2014

President Barack Obama will lay out his strategy to defeat the Islamic State group, also known as ISIL, which controls parts of Iraq and Syria, during a televised address to the nation at 9:00 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday).

A White House official said the president's plan includes 'U.S. military action and support for the forces combating ISIL on the ground — both the opposition in Syria and a new, inclusive Iraqi government.'

​​The president will also discuss his administration's effort to build international support for the U.S. plan among allies and others in the region and work with Congress, the statement said.

Officials have given few specifics on what Obama plans to say in the White House address. The president has already ruled out sending U.S. forces back into Iraq.

On Tuesday the president briefed Democratic and Republican leaders from both chambers of Congress on his plan. He told them he believes he does not need formal Congressional approval before expanding the military operations.

The United States has already carried out 153 airstrikes on Islamic State targets inside Iraq, and U.S. officials have discussed the possibility of expanding that campaign.

Possible strikes in Syria

The New York Times late Tuesday quoted a senior administration official as saying President Obama is prepared to authorize airstrikes in Syria. But the paper reported Obama is trying to figure out how to do so without helping President Bashar al-Assad. Several foreign policy experts briefed by Obama this week also told The Washington Post that the president is ready to use U.S. airstrikes on both sides of the Syria-Iraq border in order to protect U.S. national security.

Syria

Obama came close to direct military action a year ago in Syria to support what Washington considers more moderate rebel forces fighting President Bashar al-Assad, but held off given strong opposition in Congress. After disgust in America over the videotaped beheading of two American journalists by Islamic State in the past month, resistance in Congress has diminished.

But Washington's failure since then to support the moderate groups has left them weakened and it is unclear how the United States can build up such forces quickly enough to create a useful military ally on the ground.

Obama has shown a willingness to intrude militarily into Syrian space with an unsuccessful operation in July to try to rescue Americans held hostage by Islamic State, and he said in an interview that aired on Sunday that Washington was prepared to hit the group's leaders wherever it could.

Iraq

Iraq's formation of a relatively inclusive government on Monday has cleared the way for wider U.S. action in support of Iraqi armed forces and Kurdish forces in a country where the United States was engaged in a bitter military struggle for nine years after overthrowing President Saddam Hussein. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday to meet with Iraqi leaders and discuss efforts to combat Islamic State.

Polls this week show the majority of Americans support action against the militants.

Some material for this report provided by Reuters.