More than a week after he declared war against the extremists, President Barack Obama vowed before the United Nations to destroy the Islamic State’s “network of death” that has inflicted widespread terror and destruction in the Middle East.
Speaking at the 69th U.N. General Assembly, Obama said that the U.S. would become a “respectful and constructive partner” in the war against ISIS. He also urged Middle East countries to lead the efforts in addressing the upsurge of extremism in the country and stop funding such terror groups, the Associated Press reported.
“Ultimately, the task of rejecting sectarianism and extremism is a generational task — a task for the people of the Middle East themselves,” Obama said. “No external power can bring about a transformation of hearts and minds.”
Obama also highlighted efforts to build a broad coalition against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and called on the world to join the U.S. in the fight against the militants.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Pres. Barack Obama”]
No God condones this terror. No grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning — no negotiation — with this brand of evil. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death.
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More than 40 countries have already joined the coalition, Obama said, including five Arab countries that have already took turns in bombing ISIS stronghold in Iraq and Syria, a country embroiled in a vicious civil war.
Obama’s remarks came as American intelligence disclosed of a possible attack by the AL-Qaeda against the U.S. or Europe.
