AS countries across the globe continue fighting against the Islamic State (IS), President Barack Obama on Monday, Dec. 14, said the US-led coalition is hitting ISIS “harder than ever.”
“ISIL leaders cannot hide, and our message to them is simple: you are next,” Obama said at the Pentagon on Monday, following a briefing from his national security team.
His announcement comes several days after a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California and nearly a month after multiple coordinated attacks in Paris, a time at which he faces pressure to convince Americans he is taking all measures to keep them safe. He is also pressured by Democrats and Republicans to pick up the pace and intensity of the campaign against IS.
To date, Obama said the United States has dropped about 9,000 bombs; last month, the country hit more targets than any other month since it began its attacks on the Islam State last year
“Our partners on the ground are rooting ISIL out by town, neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block. That is what this campaign is doing,” the president said.
Still, Obama acknowledged that progress needs to continue more quickly.
“This continues to be a difficult fight,” he said. “We recognize that progress needs to keep coming faster.”
The president also noted that there’s a particular problem in urban areas controlled by IS, where militants often use civilians as human shield, USA Today reported.
“Even as we’re relentless we need to be smart, targeting ISIL surgically and with precision,” he said.
The White House said it has experienced more success in escalating the war through air strikes on oil smuggling — a key source of revenue for the organization — and expanding the coalition of 65 countries aiding the effort, rather than using ground troops or “carpet bombing” portions of Syria and Iraq controlled by IS militants.
Last month, the Pentagon said it would deploy approximately 100 more special operations troops to Iraq as a “specialized expeditionary targeting force” to conduct raids, free hostages, collect intelligence and capture Islamic State leaders in Iraq, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Obama’s meeting at the Pentagon was the first since July 6, at which point he said there was progress in the fight against terrorism, but warned it would be a “long-term campaign,” according to USA Today.
On Thursday, Dec. 17, Obama will visit the National Counterterrorism Center to learn more about its efforts to track terrorism, before he departs for his annual two-week vacation in Hawaii.
