INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Barack Obama: President Addresses ISIL In New Counterterrorism Meeting

By Antonio J. Newell
Published on: 08:09 PST, Mar 29, 2016

President Barack Obama has vowed to continue his pursuit of ISIL until all its safe havens are destroyed. Yet, Obama isn’t just talking about it. He has an action plan.

According to the White House, President Barack Obama met with prominent members of his Counterterrorism and Homeland Security team. Obama focused on the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium.

The report notes that President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation. From the data, authorities state that there’s no credible intelligence or information which hints to whether a similar attack will occur within the United States.

Along the many briefings Obama underwent, his staff also brought him up to speed on the issues regarding information sharing and ISIL recruitment via the internet. According to the White House source, it quotes as follows.

“President [Barack Obama] directed his team to continue to intensify efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL and to ensure that the United States is doing everything possible to disrupt any ISIL external plotting efforts, including by continuing our strong leadership in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.”

After Obama gathered the adequate information, he took to the nation via broadcast in his weekly address, recorded on Saturday, March 26. There, President Barack Obama addressed the public concerning ISIL and its tyranny throughout the world.

In a nutshell, the centerpiece of Obama’s address stated, “The future belongs not to those who seek only to destroy — but to those who have the courage to build.”

As stated in his weekly address, President Barack Obama learned that two Americans were also killed in the Belgium attacks. Likewise, Obama assured the Belgian prime minister that the country has the full support of the United States behind them.

WVLT 8 News reports that the two Americans were named Stephanie and Justin Shults. They were Vanderbilt University graduates who moved to Brussels for work. According to the report, they were dropping Stephanie’s mother off at the airport. As they said their goodbyes, moments later, the bombs exploded. Although it knocked her mother to the ground, the report states that at the time, the couple couldn’t be found among the aftermath.

Vanderbilt University issued a statement regarding the students. It stated that Stephanie and Justin “chose, in the spirit of discovery, to become global citizens in order to grow, to learn and to broaden their perspective.” The report also mentions that President Obama contacted the American families directly to share his condolences for their loss in a similar expression.

As Barack Obama continued his weekly address, he stated that as the fight against ISIL continues, the U.S. steadily advances in its mission to defeat them. Barack Obama elaborated further that since the Belgian attack, U.S. forces have removed some key figures in ISIL’s leader from the battlefield “permanently.”

You can watch President Obama’s address in the video below.

President Barack Obama called it a “relentless air campaign.” According to the White House, the campaign has allowed the United States and allies to subdue approximately 40 percent of ISIL’s territories.

President Obama also noted that there’s a team of FBI agents on the ground in Belgium helping with the investigation. The plan is to root out everyone who was involved in the terrorist attack. Just as Barack Obama mentioned, it’s a constant fight that requires world collaboration and understanding.

All in all, what do you think about Obama’s weekly address? Do you feel that Obama will make a significant impact in ISIL’s defeat before his presidency ends? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Photo by Pool/Getty Images News]

Share this article: Barack Obama: President Addresses ISIL In New Counterterrorism Meeting
Barack Obama
More from Inquisitr