Photo Credit: APBy Kevin Liptak and Tom Cohen.
President Barack Obama told congressional leaders on Tuesday he has the authority to carry out his planned strategy against ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria without authorization from legislators, but he asked for their support to show the nation was united.
Obama “reiterated his belief that the nation is stronger and our efforts more effective when the President and Congress work together to combat a national security threat” like the Sunni jihadists who call themselves the Islamic State, a White House statement said.
“The President told the leaders that he would welcome action by the Congress that would aid the overall effort and demonstrate to the world that the United States is united in defeating the threat,” it added.
Earlier, two senior legislators — one from each party — told CNN’s Dana Bash that a congressional vote on military action against the jihadists was unlikely despite calls for one by many of their colleagues.
While some in Congress want to vote on the matter, taking up such a volatile issue as military action weeks before the November elections may be politically dangerous.
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Obama reportedly willing to authorize airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, arm rebels
By Fox News.
President Obama reportedly is prepared to expand airstrikes against the Islamic State into Syria and broaden the campaign against the group in Iraq, according to published reports ahead of a prime-time address to the nation in which the president will be expected to lay out an expanded military and political strategy to confront the militants who seized large swathes of territory over the summer.
The New York Times, citing a senior administration official, reported that the president was willing to order airstrikes against the militants, also known as ISIS, inside Syrian territory. The Associated Press also reported that it was likely that Obama would order the expanded airstrikes, in apparent defiance of a warning from Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government not to do so without their permission.
Obama had pushed for airstrikes against the Damascus government last year over the apparent use of chemical weapons by Assad’s forces, but opposition in Congress forced him to drop the idea.
Obama is also expected to seek authorization from Congress to arm more moderate elements of the Syrian opposition that has been fighting Assad in a bloody civil war since 2011. The president asked lawmakers earlier this year for a $500 million train-and-equip program, but the plan stalled on Capitol Hill. The U.S. already has been running a smaller CIA program to train the rebels, but Obama is seeking approval for a more overt military effort that could involve staging training locations in countries near Syria.
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Photo Credit: Tatan Syuflana, APSen. Feinstein: Confront ISIS now
By Dianne Feinstein.
In the ghastly video showing the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff, an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria terrorist declares to President Obama, “Our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.”
In the earlier video showing the beheading of James Foley, another U.S. journalist, the ISIS executioner says directly into the camera: “You’re no longer fighting an insurgency. We are an Islamic army.”
Another recent video, also directed at Americans: “We will drown all of you in blood.”
These are ISIS’ true colors. Unlike other terrorist groups, ISIS has grown into a sophisticated military force and is estimated to have between 10,000 and 20,000 fighters. The group now firmly controls large swaths of territory in both Syria and Iraq.
The threat ISIS poses cannot be overstated. This is the most vicious, well-funded and militant terrorist organization we have ever seen, and it is very quickly consolidating its power.
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