President Obama struck a tougher tone Friday on his plans for combating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, saying that the terrorist group must be eliminated rather than just marginalized.
“You can’t contain” ISIS, Obama said at the close of a NATO summit in Wales. “The goal has to be to dismantle them.”
The president had been criticized for not speaking more clearly on his endgame for dealing with the extremist group. His hawkish remarks Friday came as the U.S. announced the formation of an international coalition to root out the terrorist group, though Obama said no ground troops would be deployed to the Middle East.
