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Thursday, September 11, 2014
Statement by President Obama on ISIL: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing of innocents

Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA
President Obama: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing
of innocents.
The loophole: Defining "innocents". For a radical Islamic group like ISIL,
anyone who is not part of ISIL is guilty of not precisely sharing their form
of Islam. The are, thus, not "innocents".
=========================

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 10, 2014
Statement by the President on ISIL
State Floor

9:01 P.M. EDT
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/10/remarks-president-barack-obama-address-nation

My fellow Americans, tonight I want to speak to you about what the United
States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy
the terrorist group known as ISIL.

As Commander-in-Chief, my highest priority is the security of the American
people. Over the last several years, we have consistently taken the fight
to terrorists who threaten our country. We took out Osama bin Laden and
much of al Qaeda’s leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We’ve targeted
al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, and recently eliminated the top commander of
its affiliate in Somalia. We’ve done so while bringing more than 140,000
American troops home from Iraq, and drawing down our forces in Afghanistan,
where our combat mission will end later this year. Thanks to our military
and counterterrorism professionals, America is safer.

Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat. We can’t erase every trace
of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do
great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today.
And that’s why we must remain vigilant as threats emerge. At this moment,
the greatest threats come from the Middle East and North Africa, where
radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those
groups is ISIL -- which calls itself the “Islamic State.”

Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion
condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL’s victims
have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state. It was formerly al
Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq, and has taken advantage of sectarian strife and
Syria’s civil war to gain territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border.
It is recognized by no government, nor by the people it subjugates. ISIL is
a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than
the slaughter of all who stand in its way.

In a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in
their brutality. They execute captured prisoners. They kill children.
They enslave, rape, and force women into marriage. They threatened a
religious minority with genocide. And in acts of barbarism, they took the
lives of two American journalists -- Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.

So ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader
Middle East -- including American citizens, personnel and facilities. If
left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that
region, including to the United States. While we have not yet detected
specific plotting against our homeland, ISIL leaders have threatened America
and our allies. Our Intelligence Community believes that thousands of
foreigners -– including Europeans and some Americans –- have joined them in
Syria and Iraq. Trained and battle-hardened, these fighters could try to
return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks.

I know many Americans are concerned about these threats. Tonight, I want
you to know that the United States of America is meeting them with strength
and resolve. Last month, I ordered our military to take targeted action
against ISIL to stop its advances. Since then, we’ve conducted more than
150 successful airstrikes in Iraq. These strikes have protected American
personnel and facilities, killed ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons, and given
space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory. These strikes
have also helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and
children.

But this is not our fight alone. American power can make a decisive
difference, but we cannot do for Iraqis what they must do for themselves,
nor can we take the place of Arab partners in securing their region. And
that’s why I’ve insisted that additional U.S. action depended upon Iraqis
forming an inclusive government, which they have now done in recent days.
So tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following
consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that
America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.

Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL
through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.

First, we will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these
terrorists. Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts
beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re
hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense. Moreover, I have made
it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country,
wherever they are. That means I will not hesitate to take action against
ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency:
If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.

Second, we will increase our support to forces fighting these terrorists on
the ground. In June, I deployed several hundred American servicemembers to
Iraq to assess how we can best support Iraqi security forces. Now that
those teams have completed their work –- and Iraq has formed a government –-
we will send an additional 475 servicemembers to Iraq. As I have said
before, these American forces will not have a combat mission –- we will not
get dragged into another ground war in Iraq. But they are needed to support
Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and equipment. We’ll
also support Iraq’s efforts to stand up National Guard Units to help Sunni
communities secure their own freedom from ISIL’s control.

Across the border, in Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to
the Syrian opposition. Tonight, I call on Congress again to give us
additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters. In
the fight against ISIL, we cannot rely on an Assad regime that terrorizes
its own people -- a regime that will never regain the legitimacy it has
lost. Instead, we must strengthen the opposition as the best counterweight
to extremists like ISIL, while pursuing the political solution necessary to
solve Syria’s crisis once and for all.

Third, we will continue to draw on our substantial counterterrorism
capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks. Working with our partners, we will
redouble our efforts to cut off its funding; improve our intelligence;
strengthen our defenses; counter its warped ideology; and stem the flow of
foreign fighters into and out of the Middle East. And in two weeks, I will
chair a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to further mobilize the
international community around this effort.

Fourth, we will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to innocent
civilians who have been displaced by this terrorist organization. This
includes Sunni and Shia Muslims who are at grave risk, as well as tens of
thousands of Christians and other religious minorities. We cannot allow
these communities to be driven from their ancient homelands.

So this is our strategy. And in each of these four parts of our strategy,
America will be joined by a broad coalition of partners. Already, allies
are flying planes with us over Iraq; sending arms and assistance to Iraqi
security forces and the Syrian opposition; sharing intelligence; and
providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid. Secretary Kerry was in
Iraq today meeting with the new government and supporting their efforts to
promote unity. And in the coming days he will travel across the Middle East
and Europe to enlist more partners in this fight, especially Arab nations
who can help mobilize Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria, to drive these
terrorists from their lands. This is American leadership at its best: We
stand with people who fight for their own freedom, and we rally other
nations on behalf of our common security and common humanity.

My administration has also secured bipartisan support for this approach here
at home. I have the authority to address the threat from ISIL, but I
believe we are strongest as a nation when the President and Congress work
together. So I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to
show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger.

Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL. And any time we
take military action, there are risks involved –- especially to the
servicemen and women who carry out these missions. But I want the American
people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on
foreign soil. This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a
steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our
air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy
of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the
front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia
for years. And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this
year: to use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests,
but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to
international order.

My fellow Americans, we live in a time of great change. Tomorrow marks 13
years since our country was attacked. Next week marks six years since our
economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression. Yet despite
these shocks, through the pain we have felt and the grueling work required
to bounce back, America is better positioned today to seize the future than
any other nation on Earth.

Our technology companies and universities are unmatched. Our manufacturing
and auto industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than it’s
been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the
longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history. Despite all
the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and
determination and common goodness of the American people every single day –-
and that makes me more confident than ever about our country’s future.

Abroad, American leadership is the one constant in an uncertain world. It
is America that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against
terrorists. It is America that has rallied the world against Russian
aggression, and in support of the Ukrainian peoples’ right to determine
their own destiny. It is America –- our scientists, our doctors, our
know-how –- that can help contain and cure the outbreak of Ebola. It is
America that helped remove and destroy Syria’s declared chemical weapons so
that they can’t pose a threat to the Syrian people or the world again. And
it is America that is helping Muslim communities around the world not just
in the fight against terrorism, but in the fight for opportunity, and
tolerance, and a more hopeful future.

America, our endless blessings bestow an enduring burden. But as Americans,
we welcome our responsibility to lead. From Europe to Asia, from the far
reaches of Africa to war-torn capitals of the Middle East, we stand for
freedom, for justice, for dignity. These are values that have guided our
nation since its founding.

Tonight, I ask for your support in carrying that leadership forward. I do
so as a Commander-in-Chief who could not be prouder of our men and women in
uniform –- pilots who bravely fly in the face of danger above the Middle
East, and servicemembers who support our partners on the ground.

When we helped prevent the massacre of civilians trapped on a distant
mountain, here’s what one of them said: “We owe our American friends our
lives. Our children will always remember that there was someone who felt
our struggle and made a long journey to protect innocent people.”

That is the difference we make in the world. And our own safety, our own
security, depends upon our willingness to do what it takes to defend this
nation and uphold the values that we stand for –- timeless ideals that will
endure long after those who offer only hate and destruction have been
vanquished from the Earth.

May God bless our troops, and may God bless the United States of America.

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