US President Barack Obama told Congressional leaders that he has enough authority and doesn’t need their authorization to broaden military action against the Islamic State, ahead of a speech on 9/11 eve that may pave way for further US military action in Iraq and even Syria.
In an hour long meeting with the leaders of Congress on Tuesday, the President said he “would welcome action by the Congress that would aid the overall effort and demonstrate to the world that the United States is united in defeating the threat from ISIL,” according to the White House statement.
However, for the plan he was due to announce on Wednesday, Obama already “has the authority he needs to take action.”
In a rare prime time address, hours before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, President Obama was address the American people, and lay out his mission against the Islamic State.
As a part of his strategy for “degrading and ultimately destroying” the Islamic State, Obama was expected to ask Congress to quickly authorize the arming and training of Syrian opposition forces but will press forward without formal sign-off from lawmakers on a broader military and political effort to combat militants in Syria and Iraq, administration officials told the Associated Press.
The president's broader strategy could include more wide-ranging airstrikes against targets in Iraq and even in Syria, and hinges on military and political commitments from allies in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.
However, if the US and the “anti-ISIS alliance” eventually starts bombing the Islamic State militants in Syria without consulting Damascus – as the US establishment warned they would do – they may also use that occasion to launch the long-awaited airstrikes against President Bashar Assad’s forces, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned on Tuesday.
The US President has already promised to “hunt down” Islamic State extremists “wherever they are,” stressing the need to work with regional partners like Iraq and Kurdish forces, as well as Syrian rebels.
Even before Obama’s meeting with Congress leaders, some lawmakers expressed doubt the President would get the backing he seeks as a vote on the president’s plan was unlikely before the midterm elections in November.
