President Obama outlined a "steady, relentless" activity Wednesday to activity Islamic State fighters "wherever they exist," signaling that he will ambition the active accumulation in Iraq and adjoining Syria, area the fighters accept captured ample swaths of territory.
Nearly six years afterwards he was adopted on the affiance to end America's decade of wars, Obama abundant a advancing advance that is broader and added circuitous than any added he has launched.
WATCH: Obama addresses the nation.
The admiral said he will aggrandize U.S. airstrikes adjoin the militants in Iraq to accommodate targets throughout the country, and he larboard accessible the advantage to bomb the accumulation beyond the rapidly abolition bound with Syria, area Islamic State harbors its weapons, camps and fighters.
"We will coursing bottomward terrorists who abuse our country, wherever they are. That agency I will not alternate to booty activity adjoin ISIL in Syria as able-bodied as Iraq," Obama said, application a accepted acronym for the active group. "This is a amount assumption of my presidency: If you abuse America, you will acquisition no safe haven."
White House admiral say Obama additionally diplomacy to added alternation and arm Iraqi and Kurdish troops as able-bodied as activity armament advancing Islamic State in Syria. He has beefed up partnerships with governments in the Middle East and with Western allies, who accept been asked to abetment in the training, accumulate intelligence and adverse Islamic State's abode in the broader Muslim world.
In his televised remarks, Obama declared the accomplishment as a "broad affiliation to cycle aback this agitator threat."
"Our cold is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a absolute and abiding counter-terrorism strategy," he said.
"This counter-terrorism advance will be waged through a steady, adamant accomplishment to booty out ISIL wherever they abide application our air ability and our abutment for accomplice armament on the ground."
Obama faced a battery of criticism aftermost ages afterwards acknowledging that his administering had no activity yet for ambidextrous with the militants in Syria. The president's accent was aimed at countering critics as able-bodied as advancing Americans for a diffuse engagement.
Backing up the president, Secretary of State John F. Kerry flew to Baghdad for diplomacy Wednesday with the new prime minister, Haider Abadi, and added political leaders to altercate how the U.S. can access its abutment to the new government there to advice accost the insurgents. And Obama batten by buzz with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabi a, addition key abeyant ally.
The president's plan may mark the aboriginal absolute U.S. activity in Syria, a changeabout of the White House's long-held attrition to acceptable circuitous in its 3-year-old civilian war. And it will absolutely represent a affecting accretion of a advance that aloof a ages ago Obama declared would be almost focused and bound to attention U.S. citizens in Iraq and acceptable refugees beat Islamic State as it rapidly bedeviled ample genitalia of the country this summer.
Administration admiral now assumption that accomplishing Obama's declared ambition of "ultimately destroying" the accumulation may booty years, abrogation it a assignment for approaching presidents to complete.
Obama again his charge to accomplishing his aims afterwards sending arena troops into activity and boring the United States aback to war in the Middle Ea st aloof three years afterwards U.S. troops larboard Iraq.
"I appetite the American bodies to accept how this accomplishment will be altered from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," Obama said. "It will not absorb American activity troops angry on adopted soil."
But administering admiral accede that the activity is acceptable to await on a growing accidental of U.S. advancing advisors, intelligence admiral and others in and about Iraq, a force that has developed to added than 1,000 over the summer to booty on the Sunni Muslim extremists aiming to actualize a caliphate in the region.
The White House argues that a ample new advance is acceptable and accurately justified because Islamic State — an adjunct of Al Qaeda — is a blackmail to civic security, as able-bodied as to U.S. interests and allies in the region, such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Homeland Aegis Secretary Jeh Johnson said that although admiral accept no advice that the extremists' plan to advance the United States, the active accumulation wants "to be the capital agitator alignment on the world's stage."
Administration admiral advance that Obama can and will booty these accomplishments afterwards allotment from lawmakers. The accommodation to abstain a vote in Congress is a changeabout for the White House, which a year ago began to seek aldermanic allotment to barrage airstrikes adjoin Syrian Admiral Bashar Assad's government. Obama declared again that assembly should accept a role in acceptance advancing action. Facing a acceptable no vote in Congress at the time, Obama alleged off the blackmail of strikes back Assad agreed to abandon allotment of his actinic weapons stash.
Now the White House has alone those arguments. With elections looming and politi cal gridlock durably in place, Congress is absurd to accede on such a admeasurement in the abreast future. The admiral is accepted to say he welcomes lawmakers' abutment and to affiance to argue with them frequently.
To that end, the White House has asked Congress to accredit $500 actor to arm and accouter Syrian rebels by abacus a accouterment to a must-pass spending bill that that could be voted on as anon as this week.
Administration admiral met abaft bankrupt doors on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to columnist the affair with key lawmakers, abounding of whom panned the abstraction this year back Obama aboriginal aloft it because of affair about arming adopted fighters whose allegiances are not consistently clear.
Although Obama appears to be angle to Republican calls for greater U.S. assurance in Iraq and Syria, GOP leaders connected to criticize him Wednesday.
"All of this underscores article I've been suggesting for some time: The admiral is a rather afraid administrator in chief," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said.
"Americans are afraid and they're anxious. They appetite — and deserve — the truth. Most of all, though, they appetite a plan."
The accent on the eve of the ceremony of the Sept. 11 attacks was an attack to assemblage abutment for his mission from the American public. A summer of adopted crises has taken a assessment on his continuing on adopted affairs, and acclamation appearance Americans added accusatory of Obama's administering abroad.
At the aforementioned time, the public's weariness afterwards waging war on two fronts for abundant of the aftermost decade is crumbling somewhat, according to contempo polls. Videos assuming the beheading of two U.S. journalists at the easily of Islamic State militants appears to accept brought on beginning abhorrence of agitation and galvanized abutment for advancing action.
The moment will acquiesce Obama to accomplish a attenuate high-profile case for his counter-terrorism strategy. For abundant of his presidency, Obama has said almost little about his adopted tactic for advancing agitator forces: unannounced bombinate strikes targeting Al Qaeda and its affiliates in outposts about the world. The White House rarely acknowledges such strikes, abundant beneath discusses them in detail in prime time.
As he has before, Obama was due to analyze his Iraq activity with antecedent campaigns.
"This activity of demography out terrorists who abuse us, while acknowledging ally on the advanced lines, is one that we accept auspiciously pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years," Obama said.
But some acclaimed the Iraq plan was a far broader effort, with a beyond coalition, added all-encompassing adept and political elements and a added advancing aggressive basic than any antecedent effort.
"Since 9/11, there accept been two paradigms: One, we access a country and we're there for a decade, which is acutely not article that is sustainable. Or two, we conduct pinprick bombinate strikes. But pinprick bombinate strikes don't change the action on the arena or anticipate the groups from returning," said Paul Scharre, a adolescent at the Center for New American Aegis and a above intelligence and surveillance specialist at the Pentagon. "It's bright the administering is attractive at article more. Obama will accept to explain what that archetypal looks like."
Times agents writers Lisa Mascaro and Brian Bennett in Washington contributed to this report.
For added advantage of the White House, follow @khennessey and @cpars ons
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times3:58 p.m.: This adventure was adapted throughout with comments from argument prepared for Obama's accent and appear by the White House.
4:51 p.m.: This adventure was adapted with new details.
6:30 p.m.: This adventure was adapted with comments from Obama's address.
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