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                 Obama Signals No Immediate Airstrikes in Syria

   by VOA News

   President Barack Obama is downplaying the possibility of imminent U.S.
   airstrikes against Islamic extremists in Syria.

   Speaking to reporters Thursday at the White House, Obama said he is
   still working on a comprehensive plan to deal with the group.

   The president said the U.S. will continue strikes on Islamic State
   targets in Iraq, which he said have dealt a blow to the militants, but
   added that recent media speculation about whether the U.S. would soon
   expand the operation to Syria is presumptive.

   U.S. officials say they are studying possible limited military action
   in Syria. Last week, Obama authorized air surveillance on Islamist
   fighters there.

   At his news conference Thursday, the president insisted U.S. force
   alone cannot deal with the threat, saying the region must work
   together.

   "This should be a wake-up call to Sunni, to Shia, to everybody, that a
   group like ISIS is beyond the pale, that they have no vision or
   ideology beyond violence and chaos and the slaughter of innocent
   people. And as a consequence, we've got to all join together, even if
   we have differences on a range of political issues, to make sure
   they're rooted out," said Obama

   Obama spoke before meeting with his national security team on the
   crises in Iraq and Syria. There was no word about what was decided on
   at the meeting.

   Syria said this week it would welcome U.S. and British help in fighting
   the militants, but only in coordination with Damascus. It says a
   unilateral U.S. attack would violate its airspace and could lead to an
   attempt to shoot down American warplanes.

   U.S. officials have said they would not first consult Syria as
   President Bashar al-Assad has lost the authority to lead.

   Calls for greater U.S. intervention have been mounting as the
   extremists continue their campaign, which U.N. officials have said
   amounts to ethnic and religious cleansing.

   On Friday, U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon again expressed outrage at the
   group's "brutal killings of civilians" in Iraq and Syria. Ban said
   whole communities that had lived for generations in northern Iraq are
   being forced to flee or face death just for their religious beliefs.

   Meanwhile, The Washington Post is reporting that the Islamic State
   group has waterboarded at least four Western hostages held in Syria.

   The paper said the hostages included James Foley, the American
   journalist who was beheaded by an Islamic State militant.

   The Post cited people with firsthand knowledge of what happened to the
   hostages.

   Waterboarding, or simulated drowning, is regarded by many, including
   President Obama and international rights groups, as a form of torture.

   The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency used the interrogation method on
   terror suspects arrested after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-signals-no-immediate-airstrikes
   -in-syria/2431887.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-signals-no-immediate-airstrikes-in-syria/2431887.html