President Barack Obama will address the nation this evening to lay out his plan to counter Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.
The Office of the Press Secretary released excerpts of the president's speech ahead of his 9 p.m. EDT appearance. Obama will outline the nation's counter-terrorism strategy in the Middle East.
Read the excerpts below:
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.
But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counter-terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.
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