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            Obama Discussing Islamic State Threat with Key Officials

   by VOA News

   President Barack Obama and key officials are meeting Tuesday to discuss
   how to combat the advance of Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria,
   as he considers whether to expand airstrikes in the region.

   Obama is weighing whether to launch aerial attacks over Islamic State
   strongholds in eastern Syria.  He says his goal is "to degrade and
   defeat" the insurgents.

   President Obama is meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry, the top
   four congressional leaders, Democrat Harry Reid and Republican Mitch
   McConnell from the Senate, along with House Republican leader Speaker
   John Boehner, and the top House Democrat, Nancy Pelosi.

   Obama says he has the authority to "go on the offensive."  But some
   U.S. lawmakers have called for extensive debate in Congress on U.S.
   policies in the region before any Syrian mission is undertaken.

   Obama has ruled out sending American ground troops to fight the
   insurgents three years after pulling the last U.S. combat forces out of
   Iraq following a nine-year war.  But he has dispatched about 1,000
   advisers to Baghdad and ordered extensive airstrikes against the
   insurgents in Iraq.

   Obama is planning a major speech Wednesday on his "game plan" for
   combating the Islamic State.  Government officials are also briefing
   all 535 members of Congress in the next few days.

   Public opinion surveys have shown growing support in the United States
   for more air attacks on the Islamic State, especially since the wide
   broadcast of Islamic State videos showing the militants beheading two
   American journalists.

   Despite the attacks, a segment of the public and some lawmakers are
   voicing concerns about expanded U.S. military involvement in the
   Mideast.


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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-discussing-islamic-state-threat-with-key-officials/2443750.html