Obama To Congress: U.S. Ready To Strike Islamic State
President Barack Obama reportedly met with leaders of the U.S. House and Senate Tuesday evening to outline a plan to combat the Islamic State that includes arming Syrian opposition forces, among other strategies.
The hour-long meeting took place Tuesday night in the White House's Oval Office and included House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
According to a White House press release, the leaders reportedly had a "productive discussion" that touched on possibly arming and training Syrian opposition forces to combat the Islamic State. Obama also discussed broader military and political efforts for defeating the Islamic State that rely on making strong alliances with European and Middle Eastern powers.
A White House press release states that the president told lawmakers that although he has the ability to go ahead with these military decisions without the approval of Congress, he would welcome Congress's input to show the world the U.S. is united in the goal to destroy the Islamic State.
The president said "he has the authority he needs to take action against [the Islamic State] in accordance with the mission he will lay out in his address tomorrow night," but he believes action from Congress would "aid the overall effort and demonstrate to the world that the United States is united in defeating the threat."
As the Los Angeles Times reports, lawmakers are hesitant to vote on any military action in Iraq and Syria as the midterm election is only eight weeks away.
The president is expected to discuss his plan for defeating the Islamic State in a televised speech aired to the American public on Wednesday evening. The speech will take place just hours before the anniversary of the September 11. 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City gets under way.
