Obama: We Will Destroy ISIS

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, on Sunday, November 22, during a speech at a conference in Malaysia, spoke about his country's determination in the battle against Islamic extremists, the 'hunting' of their leaders, and cutting off the financial resources of these groups. He stated that 'destroying ISIS is not only a realistic goal but one that we will achieve.' Mr. Obama emphasized: 'We will destroy them. We will take back the land they have seized, cut off their financial resources, hunt down their leaders, dismantle their networks and support lines, and we will destroy them.' The U.S. President added that 'they cannot deliver a lethal blow to France, the United States, or a country like Malaysia, but they can instill fear and terror in people.' He further noted that 'in addition to capturing terrorists, gathering effective intelligence, missile strikes, and cutting off their financial resources, the most powerful tool we have in the fight against ISIS is to say that we are not afraid.' Obama's speech followed his meeting with leaders of several Asian countries in Malaysia; he was concluding a nine-day trip to Turkey and Asia. In another part of his speech, he referred to requests to close U.S. borders to Syrian and Iraqi refugees and warned Americans that 'we must not succumb to fear and allow ourselves to abandon our values and way of life.' Following security concerns after the Paris attacks, governors of at least 24 U.S. states have announced that they are no longer willing to accept Syrian refugees. Barack Obama, who has threatened to use his veto power against this decision, reiterated his determination on Sunday to 'not undermine our values' regarding the acceptance of refugees. In another part of his speech on Sunday, the U.S. President said it would be 'not bad' if Russia focused on destroying the 'Islamic State' and agreed to a form of power transition in Syria that would remove Bashar al-Assad. Russia claims that its airstrikes in Syria are focused on 'terrorist' positions, but the United States and its allies argue that most of Russia's bombings have targeted Assad's 'moderate' opponents. The role of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian President, in Syria's political future remains a contentious issue among the parties involved in Syrian affairs. During the Malaysia conference, Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, also emphasized the need for global solidarity against terrorism and called on both Russia and the U.S. to work together to 'eradicate' terrorism.