Obama and US lawmakers turn up heat on Islamic State
President secures congressional backing for policy to 'degrade and ultimately destroy' Islamic State as he warns militants and jihadists 'our reach is long'
Barack Obama and US lawmakers ratcheted up the pressure on the Islamic State (IS) on Wednesday, with the president declaring there was no hiding place for the jihadists and warning: “Our reach is long.”
After Obama spoke at MacDill Air Force Base, the House of Representatives voted 273 to 156 to approve his plan to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels, a key part of the president’s strategy to destroy IS.
Obama was keen to project a sternly determined mood at the Florida air base, the headquarters of US Central Command, which oversees military action in the Middle East.
“Our reach is long. If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven. We will find you eventually.”
He met military commanders to discuss how to defeat the IS. while keeping America out of another protracted conflict in the Middle East.
Obama has consistently said he will not put US “boots on the ground” despite IS – which the US estimates has 20,000 to 31,000 fighters – grabbing vast areas of Iraq and Syria in a offensive that has seen beheadings and forced religious conversions.
Two American reporters and a Briton were executed on camera by a masked IS militant, provoking revulsion and condemnation.
Obama, who last week vowed to “degrade and ultimately destroy” IS, stood firm on his pledge that a US combat mission was not in the cards – but insisted the jihadists would be defeated.
