IS Crisis: Obama Threatens Action In Syria

US President Barack Obama says he will not hesitate to take action against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria as well as Iraq.
In a nationally televised speech outlining his strategy against IS, he said that any group that threatened America would “find no safe haven”.
He also announced that 475 US military personnel would be sent to Iraq but said they would not have a combat role.
IS controls large parts of Syria and Iraq after a rapid military advance.
Its fighters have become notorious for their brutality, beheading enemy soldiers and Western journalists on video.
The US has launched over 150 airstrikes against the group in Iraq and provided arms to Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting against IS.
In a 15-minute speech shown at peak time in the US, President Obama vowed that America would lead “a broad coalition to roll back” IS.
“Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting Isil [Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant - the previous name for IS] targets as Iraqi forces go on the offense” he said.
He said he would welcome congressional approval for the fight against IS but said that he had the authority to act without it.
President Obama was elected in part because of fervent opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and presided over the US troop pullout from the country.