An earlier post gives the transcript of President Obama Address to the Nation – 9/10/2014
Here is what he should have said:
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 tried military power to end terrorism and its threat to our country. We have won many battles, but are no closer to our objective than we were the day I took office. 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 is scheduled to end later this year. Thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals we have relieved some symptoms but the terrorists forces are as large as ever, and even bolder than before.
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 change our policy of trying to use our military might to kill all terrorists. 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.”
ISIL exists, and has its current strength due to the policies we have employed up to now. We classify ISIL as a terrorist organization, rather than a modern state, because it has not learned to disguise its actions as defensive, but rather brags about conquering territory, and openly murders non-combatants. Other governments have not recognized ISIL as a state, and will not until it acts like a modern state.
So ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East — including American citizens, personnel and facilities that are foolishly located there. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region but it is the duty of ISIL’s neighbors to force ISIL out of existence or at least to act like a modern state. Sure we can try to scare you by stating our intelligence community believes that thousands of foreigners — including Europeans and some Americans — have joined them in Syria and Iraq. But the intelligence community rarely gets things right, so there is no reason to believe that the United States is in any immediate danger. Surely, trained and battle-hardened fighters could return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks, thus one step we can take is to provide no motive for them to do that.
I know many Americans are concerned about these threats, just as many Americans are concerned about aliens from outer space. 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 it is not clear to me, why America was needed to do these things. Syria and Iraq have strong neighbors including Turkey, Iran, Qatar, Saudia Arabia, and Israel. History and mathematics has shown that as a militant group expands the size of its territory, its strength to expand and hold more territory gets depleted. Thus all America needs to do is let ISIL’s neighbors solve the problem.
This is not our fight. American power could make a short term 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 all U.S. actions will stop in the Middle East. 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 only defend itself from foreign aggression, and thus give the terrorist no motive to attack us.
Our objective is clear: we will remove ourselves from ISIL’s focus. We will not be suckered into renewing a strategy that has failed for all these many years. We will put ISIL on notice that if they attack North America, they will be have triggered a mighty force against them that will put 8 million troops, 10,000 missiles and aircraft, 250 ships, and the voluntary economic might of 300 million Americans to defeat them and their allies. The United States and its allies defeated Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan with a smaller force. And lets be clear about one thing, ISIL does not have the military might of a Germany or Japan.
We will not conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. We tried for more than 10 years to work with the Iraqi government and train their military. We will not throw good money after bad. If ISIL can train soldiers in 2 weeks, Iraq, and other governments in the region can mobilize their own populations to deal with the problem. If they are unable to do that, then ISIL wins, and there will be peace. Not a peace as we would like, but a peace that the locals brought upon themselves.
I have made it clear that terrorists would be unwise to threaten our country. That means I will not hesitate to take action against any invasion or attack by ISIL. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.
Second, we will remove our support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground. In June, I deployed several hundred American service members to Iraq to assess how we can best support Iraqi Security Forces, it was determined that the best thing we could do is to go home. As I have said before, American forces will not have a combat mission until it is clear that we are under imminent attack. We will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq. If Iraq and Kurdish forces need training, intelligence and equipment, I am sure they can purchase what they need on the open market.
Across the border, in Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition. I now understand that was a mistake. The best way to strengthen the opposition is to let them know that they will get no help from the United States government. The best counterweight to extremists like ISIL is to show the world how enlightened governments limit their scope to protecting their own citizens.
Third, we will continue to draw on our substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks on the United States. Working with our partners, we will urge everone in the world to stop funding ISIL. To prove our defacto neutrality we will not interfere with the flow of foreign fighters into the Middle East. The rest of the world knows what they will and will not do, thus I will not chair a meeting of the UN Security Council to deal with this issue.
Fourth, we will encourage voluntary humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who have been displaced by this terrorist organization. This includes Sunni and Shia Muslims who are at grave risk, as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities, and will welcome any peaceful and honest people who choose to come to the United States to get out of harms way and earn a living.
My fellow Americans, we live in a time of great change. Tomorrow marks 13 years since our country was attacked. Next week marks 6 years since our economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression. Yet despite these shocks; through the pain we have felt and the grueling work required to bounce back — with this new policy, America is better positioned today to seize the future than any other nation on Earth.
Our technology companies and universities are unmatched; our manufacturing and auto industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than it’s been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history. Despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American people every single day — and that makes me more confident than ever about our country’s future.
With this new policy abroad, America will lead by example.
America’s blessings do not put obligations on us. We stand for freedom, for justice, for dignity. These are values that have guided our nation since its founding. Tonight, I ask for your support in carrying out our new approach. Do not fall prey to those who beat the war drums. Going forward, as a Commander-in-Chief I will call on our men and women in uniform to be prepared to defend America, and never put them in harms way to fight other nation’s battles.
Our previous interventions created the conditions that trapped civilians on a distant mountain facing massacre. People everywhere need to know that there is evil in this world, and they must establish their own defenses against them. It is a foolish plan to expect American forces to rescue them from a ruthless group like ISIL.
That is the difference we will make in the world. Maintaining our own safety — our own security, and upholding the values that we stand for — timeless ideals that will endure long after those who use aggression to spread hate and destruction.
May God forgive us for the foreign policy blunders we have made for years, and help us along this new path.