Skip to main content

Obama previews broad strategy to 'take down' Islamic State

President Obama, in a dinner with foreign policy experts, laid out a comprehensive, long-term strategy to combat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, saying the terrorist group must be defeated, not contained.
U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Congressional leaders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington to discuss  his plan to combat Islamic State militants operating in Iraq and Syria September 9, 2014. From left are: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House John Boehner, Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi. 
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque  (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR45KVO

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, ahead of an address to the nation Wednesday, laid out a comprehensive, long-term strategy to "take down" Islamic State (IS) militants in a dinner with foreign policy experts at the White House Monday night, in which he expressed optimism about the forging of a US-led coalition to combat the IS threat.

There was a “big emphasis on a comprehensive approach, not trying to divide the problem and solve it in this country and that country,” Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution, told Al-Monitor.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.