At 9:00 p.m. Wednesday night, President Barack Obama gave what might be the most important speech of his presidency. Obama laid out his strategy to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the terrorist organization ISIL. While Obama emphasized the United States successes against al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, and Somalia, he recognized the tremendous threat ISIL poses to the Middle East and world, saying, “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.”
ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) in the past few years has gained significant territory in Iraq and Syria. They have taken advantage of a weak infrastructure and sectarian strife in both countries in order to impose their rule. President Obama spoke of ISIL as being “unique in their brutality.” They have left a bloody wake of killed children, executed prisoner, and raped woman across swaths of Iraq and Syria. ISIL recently killed the American journalists Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff, a move which has enraged the American public and mobilized the media against the menace of ISIL. In one quote, Obama called ISIL “not Islamic.” He suggested that no religious group would commit the crimes and abuses that ISIL has. There was a strong reaction against this statement on Twitter, and this could prove to be one of his most controversial quotes of the year.

After reiterating the threat ISIL poses, Obama gave his four point strategy to systematically destroy them. 1) Obama intends to wage a systematic campaign of airstrikes against ISIL, stating, “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.” 2) The United States will give further support Iraqi security forces fighting against ISIL through an additional 475 service members serving as advisors in the conflict. Obama reinforced the statement that the United States will not get dragged into another ground war in 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.” The President also called out Congress to enable the United States to give further support to the Syrian opposition (fighting against the Assad regime). 3) Obama will increase counterterrorism forces in order 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.” Obama also promised to call a United Nations Security Council meeting in order to mobilize counterterrorism support from the international community against ISIL. Finally, he will give 4) humanitarian assistance to innocents displaced by ISIL.

There have been some early critiques of the four point plan. Politico writer and senior economist at the RAND Corporation Howard J. Shatz has suggested the most effective way to take down ISIL will be to follow their trail of money. Many Americans are wary of war in the Middle East and Iraq and are worried the conflict against ISIL will become a full blown ground war. However, President Obama made it clear to all Americans Wednesday night that he believes the United States has a responsibility to lead, stating, “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.”