Thread: U.S. to 'start going on some offense'

Obama: U.S. to 'start going on some offense'



We will defeat ISIS, President says

Obama will deliver a speech Wednesday to explain to the nation "what our game plan is" in the fight against the terror group. FULL STORY

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Obama: U.S. to 'start going on some offense' in ISIS fight

By Leigh Ann Caldwell and Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN
updated 12:33 PM EDT, Sun September 7, 2014
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• President Obama says he will give speech Wednesday outlining plan to defeat ISIS
• Plan will not involve U.S. troops on ground, but supporting Iraqi, Kurdish troops there
• Obama: With resources shifted, Americans protected, U.S. to "start going on some offense"
• He wants Congress to "have buy-in" but says he's already authorized to protect U.S.

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama will address the country Wednesday to explain to the nation "what our game plan is going forward" in the fight against ISIS.

In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Obama expressed confidence that the United States, with help from regional partners, will be able to wipe out the terror organization.

"I just want the American people to understand the nature of the threat and how we're going to deal with it and to have confidence that we'll be able to deal with it," the President told interviewer Chuck Todd.

He said action will include military, diplomatic and economic components. He also laid out a three-staged plan that includes actions the U.S. has already undertaken, including increased intelligence on ISIS and air strikes to protect American personnel, critical Iraqi infrastructure like the Mosul Dam and cities such as Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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"The next phase is now to start going on some offense," he said. "We have to get an Iraqi government in place, and I'm optimistic that next week we should be able to get that done."

He said his address won't announce the involvement of U.S. ground troops. "We're not looking at sending 100,000 American troops," he vowed.

The President gave his most direct and detailed assessment of ISIS since the terrorist group has brutally decapitated two American journalists and executed thousands of Iraqis. It is a vastly different message that he gave nearly two weeks ago when he said the U.S. didn't have a strategy "yet" to deal with ISIS, specifically in Syria and when he called the group the JV team in January.

"Well, they're not a JV team," Obama said.

The President received praise from recent critics who said he was too timid as the scope, depth and capabilities of ISIS continues to grow.

"I want to congratulate the President. He is now on offense," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"It's overdue, but the President is now there," the California Democrat added.

Her counterpart in the House, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Michigan and Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, echoed Feinstein's sentiment also on CNN. "This is the toughest talk that we have heard from the President, and I agree with Sen. Feinstein -- that's a good thing because they are a threat."

But not everyone applauded the President. Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and has criticized Obama for not acting quickly or strongly enough, said "American foreign policy is in the hands of someone who does not know what he's doing."

"I believe this President has committed a presidential malpractice in his foreign policy," Rubio added on CBS News' "Face the Nation."

Congressional 'buy-in'
Congress returns to Washington this week from a five week break and will immediately face questions about ISIS.

Obama said he will speak to Congress on Tuesday to discuss the administration's strategy, let lawmakers "have buy-in" and debate the plan. But asked by Todd if he was seeking congressional authorization of his strategy, Obama appeared to say no.

"I'm confident that I've got the authorization that I need to protect the American people," he said.

But Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is also considering a 2016 presidential run, said on ABC's "This Week" that any additional military action "should absolutely take Congressional approval."

His colleagues in the House, however, didn't agree, saying the President has the constitutional authority to act without Congressional authorization.

The top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King, R-New York, said, "I believe as Commander-In-Chief he has the absolute power to carry out these attacks," King also said on ABC.

Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington agreed, saying the President doesn't need authorization but that "it would be better if Congress would authorize it."

He added, however, that it would be "extraordinarily difficult" to get through the partisan body, especially less than two months before an election.

Threat to the U.S.
The President maintains that the terror group, which gained power in war-torn Syria and expanded into Iraq, is not an immediate threat to the U.S, but noted that "over time" can become a "serious threat to the homeland" if it is able to continue to expand territory under its control while amassing arms and fighters, especially Western fighters.

Wednesday's speech, which will come a day before the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, will help the American public better grasp the administration's plan, he said.

"What I want people to understand is that over the course of months, we are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of (ISIS), we are going to systematically degrade their capabilities, we're going to shrink the territory that they control and ultimately, we're going to defeat them," Obama said.

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