Obama: There Will Be Long-Term Strategy in Syria, May Cost Some Money

Local Editor

U.S. President Barack Obama admitted on Thursday that he still does not have a strategy to fight the so-called "Islamic State" extremists in Syria, saying that, "There will be a military aspect to a long-term strategy, and that it may cost some money."

Ahead of a meeting with security chiefs on Thursday, Obama admitted, "...We don't have a strategy yet," pushing back on reports that, he said, suggest the country is about to go "full scale on an elaborate strategy" in the Middle East.

"We're going to cobble together the kind of coalition that we need for a long-term strategy as soon as we are able to fit together the military, political and economic components of that strategy. There will be a military aspect to that," Obama said. "And it's going to be important for Congress to know what that is, in part because it may cost some money."

"The suggestion, I guess, has been that we'll start moving forward imminently, and somehow Congress, still out of town, is going to be left in the dark," Obama said, adding that there would be plenty of time for Congress to review the strategy when it gets back from its summer recess on Sept. 8.

Moreover, Obama said he's building a "broader regional strategy" against the IS in Iraq and Syria.

He said he would send U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to the region to build a coalition of "strong regional partners."

Furthermore, Obama said his top priority remained rolling back the group's gains in Iraq, where he has said they pose a threat to U.S. personnel in Erbil and the capital, Baghdad. 

In Iraq, Obama has authorized daily air strikes of IS targets. The U.S. Central Command in Tampa confirmed on Thursday five more strikes near the Mosul Dam, bringing the total number of air strikes to 106 over three weeks.

Obama's remarks to reporters on Thursday afternoon came before a meeting of his National Security Council in the White House Situation Room.

On Russia, Obama said, "It is not in the cards for us to see a military confrontation between Russia and the United States in this region."

Obama will be travelling to Estonia and Wales next week for meetings with NATO allies about Ukraine. He also spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, and the two agreed that additional sanctions are necessary, the White House said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team