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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.
First, we will conduct a systematic
campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. Working with the Iraqi
government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and
humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on
offense. Moreover, 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. This is a core principle of my
presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.
Second, we will increase our support to
forces fighting these terrorists on the ground. In June, I deployed several
hundred American service members to Iraq to assess how we can best support
Iraqi Security Forces. Now that those teams have completed their work – and
Iraq has formed a government – we will send an additional 475 service members
to Iraq. As I have said before, these American forces will not have a combat
mission – we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq. But they are
needed to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and
equipment. We will also support Iraq’s efforts to stand up National Guard Units
to help Sunni communities secure their own freedom from ISIL control.
Across the border, in Syria, we have
ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition. Tonight, I again
call on Congress to give us additional authorities and resources to train and
equip these fighters. In the fight against ISIL, we cannot rely on an Assad
regime that terrorizes its people; a regime that will never regain the
legitimacy it has lost. Instead, we must strengthen the opposition as the best
counterweight to extremists like ISIL, while pursuing the political solution
necessary to solve Syria’s crisis once and for all.
Third, we will continue to draw on our
substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks. Working with
our partners, we will redouble our efforts to cut off its funding; improve our
intelligence; strengthen our defenses; counter its warped ideology; and stem
the flow of foreign fighters into – and out of – the Middle East. And in two
weeks, I will chair a meeting of the UN Security Council to further mobilize
the international community around this effort.
Fourth, we will continue providing
humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who have been displaced by this
terrorist organization. This includes Sunni and Shia Muslims who are at grave
risk, as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious
minorities. We cannot allow these communities to be driven from their ancient
homelands.
This is our strategy.
And in each of these four parts of our
strategy, America will be joined by a broad coalition of partners. Already,
allies are flying planes with us over Iraq; sending arms and assistance to
Iraqi Security Forces and the Syrian opposition; sharing intelligence; and
providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid. Secretary Kerry was in Iraq
today meeting with the new government and supporting their efforts to promote
unity, and in the coming days he will travel across the Middle East and Europe
to enlist more partners in this fight, especially Arab nations who can help
mobilize Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria to drive these terrorists from
their lands. This is American leadership at its best: we stand with people who
fight for their own freedom; and we rally other nations on behalf of our common
security and common humanity.
My Administration has also secured
bipartisan support for this approach here at home. I have the authority to
address the threat from ISIL. But I believe we are strongest as a nation when
the President and Congress work together. So I welcome congressional support
for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in
confronting this danger.
Now, it will take time to eradicate a
cancer like ISIL. And any time we take military action, there are risks
involved – especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions.
But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different
from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat
troops fighting on foreign soil. This counter-terrorism campaign will be waged
through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using
our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. 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. And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year: to
use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests, but to
mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to
international order.
My fellow Americans, we live in a time
of great change. Tomorrow marks 13 years since our country was attacked. Next week marks 6 years since our economy
suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression. Yet despite these
shocks; through the pain we have felt and the grueling work required to bounce
back – America is better positioned today to seize the future than any other
nation on Earth.
Our technology companies and
universities are unmatched; our manufacturing and auto industries are
thriving. Energy independence is closer
than it’s been in decades. For all the
work that remains, our businesses are in the longest uninterrupted stretch of
job creation in our history. Despite all
the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and
determination and common goodness of the American people every single day – and
that makes me more confident than ever about our country’s future.
Abroad, American leadership is the one
constant in an uncertain world. It is America that has the capacity and the
will to mobilize the world against terrorists. It is America that has rallied
the world against Russian aggression, and in support of the Ukrainian peoples’
right to determine their own destiny. It is America – our scientists, our
doctors, our know-how – that can help contain and cure the outbreak of Ebola.
It is America that helped remove and destroy Syria’s declared chemical weapons
so they cannot pose a threat to the Syrian people – or the world – again. And
it is America that is helping Muslim communities around the world not just in
the fight against terrorism, but in the fight for opportunity, tolerance, and a
more hopeful future.
America, our endless blessings bestow
an enduring burden. But as Americans, we welcome our responsibility to lead.
From Europe to Asia – from the far reaches of Africa to war-torn capitals of
the Middle East – we stand for freedom, for justice, for dignity. These are
values that have guided our nation since its founding. Tonight, I ask for your
support in carrying that leadership forward. I do so as a Commander-in-Chief
who could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform – pilots who bravely
fly in the face of danger above the Middle East, and service-members who
support our partners on the ground.
When we helped prevent the massacre of
civilians trapped on a distant mountain, here’s what one of them said. “We owe
our American friends our lives. Our children will always remember that there
was someone who felt our struggle and made a long journey to protect innocent
people.”
That is the difference we make in the
world. And our own safety – our own security – depends upon our willingness to
do what it takes to defend this nation, and uphold the values that we stand for
– timeless ideals that will endure long after those who offer only hate and
destruction have been vanquished from the Earth.
May God bless our troops, and may God
bless the United States of America.
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