obama's Speech Last Night

[n david]

Last night, President obama went prime time and told whomever was watching what his strategery would be for combating the JV Squad we know as ISIS/ISIL. I did not watch the live telecast, as I had better things to do than watch a lame duck quack. I did, however, read the official White House transcript of the speech. Below is the official transcript from the WH website, along with commentary in red and a link to the source page.


Statement by the President on ISIL
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.

AMAZING! He actually used the word, "terrorist." [tic]

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.

smh ISIL IS Islamic. Why can't obama just state the facts? They are 100% Islamic and believe they're doing the will of Allah. He's a fool to suggest otherwise.

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.

They are not unique in their brutality. They chop heads off just like other Islamic terror groups. They terrorize innocent women and children...just like other Islamic terror groups.

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 don't believe for a moment there's no specific plot against the US. There were leaks from DHS in Texas stating ISIL was using obama's open border with Mexico to invade the US. And there's a great way to make sure these stupid Minnesota terrorists running off to fight with ISIL don't come back to blow up the Mall of America -- cancel their passports. Anyone running off to fight with a terrorist organization should be considered a traitor, their passports should be cancelled and they should be arrested, tried and executed.

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.

Kind of like what Bush did that you were so against back when you were a Senator. Funny how being in office changes one's policy.

Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.

The objective is anything but clear. More on that below.

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.

The bold was taken straight from the Bush Doctrine. Must be hard to realize the person obama hated so much was so right about combating terror.

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.

Here's the muddied objective. obama's sending a whopping 475 soldiers back to Iraq. But the won't have a combat mission.... they're just there to give support to Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers. This is in addition to the "several hundred" sent in June and the few thousand which have remained in Iraq since the US withdrew. These soldiers will see combat. ISIL knows they're in Iraq, they will do what they can to engage them in battle.

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.

Stupid. Really, really, seriously the worst thing to do. Notice thus far, obama has been silent about the mess in Libya. Libya is a massive failure of obama, and he knows it and doesn't want anyone to think about it. obama helped to overthrow Ghadaffi and it's created a terrorist safe haven, where recently they took over an airport and somehow made off with 13 commercial airplanes.

A few days ago, the NY Times ran a story about the family of Steven Sotloff. In it, the Sotloff family claimed the Syrian opposition, the same ones obama wants to support, were the ones who captured and sold Steven to ISIL.

I hope Congress stands against this and refuses to give obama any approval to support these Syrian terrorists. Because if we do, and if Assad falls, the flag of ISIL will rise over Damascus and ISIL will have achieved part of its goal. And maybe that's what obama wants. obama's plan would certainly benefit ISIL.

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.

Again, this is simply the Bush Doctrine and Iraq War redeux. Allies. Broad coalition of partners. obama may think this is something brilliant and new, but it's not.

cont....