I reproduce the transcript of remarks on combatting ISIS provided by
the
White House. Below the transcript, I have extracted three of the most
egregious
lies and refuted them with well documented facts.
State Floor
9:01 P.M. EDT
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 can’t 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. And 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 by 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. And 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’ve
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 also 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. And
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 counterterrorism 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
servicemembers 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
servicemembers 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’ll also support Iraq’s efforts to stand up National Guard Units to
help Sunni communities secure their own freedom from ISIL’s control.
Across the border, in
Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian
opposition. Tonight, I call on Congress again 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 own 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 U.N. Security Council to further
mobilize the international community around this effort.
Fourth, we will
continue to provide 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.
So 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 counterterrorism
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 six 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 that they can’t 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, and
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 servicemembers 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.
describes offensive Jihad as a
communal obligation binding upon the Muslims "in every year"
Allah is its target, the Prophet is its
model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the
sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.
declares disbelief to
be an evil which must be removed from the world by death or Islam.
mandates the killing of pagan Arabs who will not convert and the
subjugation and extortion of Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians who will
not convert.
