Obama vows Syria air strikes to destroy Islamic State
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to strike the "Islamic State" in Syria and to expand operations in Iraq, seizing command of an international coalition to destroy the jihadist army.
Obama, who wants history to remember him as the president who ended a decade of foreign wars, launched a major new escalation in the Middle East, also pledging to bolster Iraqi forces and to increase military assistance to Syria's opposition.
In a prime-time televised address, Obama said that IS, which has beheaded two US journalists and seized a swathe of land in Iraq and Syria, was a uniquely brutal group even by the blood-soaked standards of the Middle East.
"Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy," Obama said, steeling his nation for a new foreign war.
"I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are.
"That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq," he said, using an alternative acronym for the self-declared Islamic State.
"This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven."
AFP
