State of the Union: Obama heralds end of wars, even as troops return to Mideast
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Version 0 of 1. “Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group.” President Obama heralded the end of the two “long and costly wars” that he inherited, even as he sends U.S. troops to fight new battles in the Middle East. Obama asked Congress to authorize the use of force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria — a conflict he notably did not call an American war. “Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group,” Obama said. A year ago, Obama said the United States was “more secure.” This year, with the threat posed by terrorist groups rising in Europe and Islamic State fighters controlling major cities in Iraq and Syria, the president did not make that claim. Instead, he pointed to the limited gains made by the United States and its allies in the battle against the Islamist militants, saying that American leadership and firepower had “stopped” the Islamic State’s advance in Iraq. He conceded that much work remains. In Iraq, the militants still control virtually all of the major cities that they captured last summer. In Syria the U.S.-backed moderate opposition forces have been battered by both the Syrian regime and the more radical rebel forces. The first of the moderate opposition forces are not expected to show up at training centers in Jordan and Saudi Arabia for several more weeks. “This effort will take time,” Obama said. “It will require focus. But we will succeed.” |