US President Barack Obama says Washington is ready to lead the fight against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq, but all countries should contribute to this effort.
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In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Obama said the United States “won’t hesitate to take action against these terrorists in Iraq or in Syria. But this is not America’s fight alone.”
"This isn’t America vs. ISIL. This is the people of that region vs. ISIL. It’s the world vs. ISIL," he added.
The United States is trying to assemble an international coalition “to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL.”
On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry invited Iran to play "a role" in the campaign against ISIL despite Tehran’s reluctance to cooperate with Washington over the issue.
Obama has authorized airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria, but has ruled out US boots on the ground in a combat role. The United States has already conducted some 174 airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq since mid-August.
On Saturday, he again said that Washington will not start a ground war in Iraq, or in Syria. “It’s more effective to use our capabilities to help partners on the ground secure their own country’s futures."
"We will use our air power. We will train and equip our partners. We will advise and we will assist. And we’ll lead a broad coalition of nations who have a stake in this fight," the US president revealed.
This week, Congress approved Obama’s plan to train and arm so-called moderate militants in Syria to tackle the threat of the ISIL terrorist organization.
The Pentagon plans to train and arm 5,000 militants in Syria as part of the Obama administration’s long-term strategy to confront ISIL.
The United States has deployed some 1,600 troops to Iraq to bolster security for American diplomats and provide advice to Iraqi government forces fighting the militants.
The US calls them military advisors, but according to American defense officials, the troops are comprised of Marines and special operations forces from the US Central Command region.
The ISIL terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, control large parts of Syria's northern territory. ISIL sent its fighters into Iraq in June, quickly seizing vast expanse of land straddling the border between the two countries.
According to the White House, the terrorist group recently beheaded American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff in Syria. Foley was reportedly killed last month, and Sotloff was executed early this month.
