FULL TEXT: President Obama's Speech On ISIS

[cal04]

Remarks of President Barack Obama Address to the Nation
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 cannot 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. 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 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. 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 have 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 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. 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 counter-terrorism strategy.

more at link

[femmocrat]

1. Thank you cal04! nt

[cal04]

3. Hi femmocrat

You're very welcome

[Fred Sanders]

2. Direct from the WH so at least we know the mass media did not edit it.

Obama said the same things essentially to Meet The One Percent on Sunday but no one heard him because of the nuance and because even the guy sitting in front of him asking the questions was not even listening to the answers.

[cal04]

4. No MTP or Fox news transcripts tonight

MTP went from bad to worse. Maybe someday they'll get it right

[Fred Sanders]

5. Direct from the WH unfiltered by the lying mass media is the way to go from now on.

[freshwest]

11. We should have, rather than wade through the MSM propaganda cesspool.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, cal.

[cal04]

7. Hi Uncle Joe

Thank you
you're very welcome

[pinboy3niner]

8. Thanks for posting it

[cal04]

9. Hi pinboy3niner

you're very welcome

[freshwest]

10. VIDEO:

Thanks for posting this, cal04. Cross posted the transcript with the video and referred viewers to your thread. And a picture from your link:


President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with members of the National Security Council in the Situation Room of the White House. September 10, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

He explained it well.

[clg311]

12. Thank you.

He's such a phony. I can't stand listening to him. Reading his vapid drivel in print isn't so painful.

[Iliyah]

13. K & R

Thanks!

[MineralMan]

14. I listened to it last night, but a transcript is always

good to have. Thanks!

[blkmusclmachine]

15. PS: The MIC wants new yachts/private jets, new furs, better caviar/champagne, and new mansions.

So...


NEW WAR, M-THERF-CKERS!!!

[imthevicar]

16. The working of a

Tool for the Military Industrial Complex.

[JDPriestly]

17. I hate war, and I do not like the fact that the US sometimes interferes unnecessarily in the

internal affairs of other countries. But ISIS is a relatively small group of people as I understand it, and they are terrorizing many other people who do not support ISIS. ISIS sounds like a bunch of bullies. I could be wrong. Maybe it is really about oil or some other issue of self-interest to our country. But the international support especially if some of it is from members of the Arab League is quite impressive.

[HoosierCowboy]

18. Mr. President : Iran and Syria

If you want to put ISIS down for good there is no alternative to dealing with these two countries. They have interests in getting rid of ISIS. We have painted ourselves into a corner with Syria. Just imagine if we had attacked them, ISIS would have taken over and had access to the sea.