A Peek At What Obama Will Say Tonight On U.S. Strategy For ISIS

On Wednesday night, President Barack Obama will speak to the nation about U.S. strategy to “degrade, and ultimately destroy” the Islamic militant group ISIS (also called ISIL), which recently beheaded two American journalists it captured in Syria.

Obama will say that the U.S. will wage a “sustained counter-terrorism strategy” but won’t send any combat troops in Iraq or Syria to fight the militant group.

Here’s an excerpt from the president’s prepared remarks, provided by the White House:

“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 counter-terrorism strategy.”

…

“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 counter-terrorism 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.”