President Obama Addresses the Nation on the ISIL Threat

[freshwest]

Published on Sep 10, 2014

Speaking from the State Floor in the White House on September 10, 2014, President Obama addressed the nation on the situation in Iraq and the United States’ strategy to degrade and defeat ISIL, a terrorist organization.


President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with members of the National Security Council in the Situation Room of the White House. September 10, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

FULL TEXT: President Obama's Speech On ISIS

Remarks of President Barack Obama Address to the Nation

My fellow Americans – 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.

As Commander-in-Chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people. Over the last several years, we have consistently taken the fight to terrorists who threaten our country. We took out Osama bin Laden and much of al Qaeda’s leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We’ve targeted al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, and recently eliminated the top commander of its affiliate in Somalia. We’ve done so while bringing more than 140,000 American troops home from Iraq, and drawing down our forces in Afghanistan, where our combat mission will end later this year. Thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, America is safer.

Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat. We cannot 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. At this moment, the greatest threats come from the Middle East and North Africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those groups is ISIL – which calls itself the “Islamic State.”

Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state. It was formerly al Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq, and has taken advantage of sectarian strife and Syria’s civil war to gain territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border. It is recognized by no government, nor the people it subjugates. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.

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. They threatened a religious minority with genocide. In acts of barbarism, they took the lives of two American journalists – Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.

So ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East – including American citizens, personnel and facilities. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region – including to the United States. While we have not yet detected specific plotting against our homeland, ISIL leaders have threatened America and our allies. Our intelligence community believes that thousands of foreigners – including Europeans and some Americans – have joined them in Syria and Iraq. Trained and battle-hardened, these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks.

I know many Americans are concerned about these threats. Tonight, I want you to know that the United States of America is meeting them with strength and resolve. Last month, I ordered our military to take targeted action against ISIL to stop its advances. Since then, we have conducted more than 150 successful airstrikes in Iraq. These strikes have protected American personnel and facilities, killed ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons, and given space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory. These strikes have helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children.

But this is not our fight alone. American power can make a decisive difference, but we cannot do for Iraqis what they must do for themselves, nor can we take the place of Arab partners in securing their region. That’s why I’ve insisted that additional U.S. action depended upon Iraqis forming an inclusive government, which they have now done in recent days. So tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.

Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/10/remarks-president-barack-obama-address-nation

to cal04:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025516959

Posted for members of the BOG, a safe haven created for supporters of the 44th President Barack Obama, his policies, achievements and fellow supporters. We have a SOP posted here.

[NYC_SKP]

1. He exceeded my expectations, didn't try to appeal to sense of patriotism or exceptionalism.

He kept it real, kept it simple, but explained it to us too, like a teaching moment.

Awesome job.

And you can almost tell by the outrage of naysayers (Chris Matthews!) that it was effective.

They hate it when he does so well, it's like the worst for them!

[freshwest]

2. Thanks, NYC SKP.

[sheshe2]

3. Obama Says U.S. Will Bomb ISIS in Syria, Train Rebels

“So tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat,” Obama said. “Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, [ISIS] through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.”

Over the past month, the U.S. has conducted more than 150 air strikes against ISIS targets in Iraq under the limited mission to protect American facilities and provide humanitarian relief. But Obama, who was elected to end two wars, found himself announcing an open-ended campaign against ISIS, as American public opinion has shifted in favor of strikes against the group following the beheading of two American journalists.

“If there is an [ISIS] target that we need to hit in Iraq, we will hit it,” a senior Administration official said Wednesday previewing the speech. “This is something that the President has decided to do,” an official said of strikes in Syria.

“I will not hesitate to take action against [ISIS] in Syria, as well as Iraq,” Obama said, acknowledging there will be risks to American service members. “This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”

But what will follow will be far from the “shock and awe” of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Instead, Administration officials described a long-term campaign designed to limit the extremist group’s ability to operate with “impunity” in its territory. “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,” Obama said, referring to long-standing targeted drone campaigns against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and al-Shabab fighters.

http://time.com/3319658/obama-isis-speech-iraq-syria/

Thank you freshwest. He was calm, precise and focused. Not at all surprising, it is how he works. Some just don't get that do they?

[freshwest]

6. Many have two mental compartments: #1: IDK. #2: I don't want to know. (I've done that, myself.)

[sheshe2]

4. Kick!

[Cha]

5. Thank you, freshwest! I missed the whole thing so am especially glad you posted

all this from the President!

[freshwest]

7. You're welcome! He didn't leave anything imporant out, in my opinion.

[Cha]

8. Just this..

Jeff Gauvin @JeffersonObama
Follow
Media wanted more details of air strikes, like time and place. Lol Idiots.

3:23 PM - 10 Sep 2014 54 Retweets 29 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/09/10/president-obama-addresses-the-nation-on-isil/#comments

[freshwest]

10. Obama knows his duty is to keep Americans in the military alive by not exposing their position. DOH!

[Major Hogwash]

9. This was one of President Obama's best speeches about terrorism.

I couldn't care less what the douchebags in the mainstream media say about it.

[JustAnotherGen]

11. I shut off the news after I watched it

I'd rather watch Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on demand then be bothered by a bunch of pundits who don't seem to think I can think for myself after I hear with my own ears.

Thanks for the tip on Tweety - totally not surprised he was pissed off about the content.

[mcar]

12. I thought it was well done

Clear and concise. No hyperbole. He explained the problem and how he would solve it.

The gasbags are whining that it wasn't detailed enough. Idiots.