Obama talks ISIS at U.N.
President Obama addressed the United Nations on key global issues including the ISIS threat and Ebola.
It was a "strong speech," says our colleague Wolf Blitzer. Follow this blog and Watch CNN on TV or online for more analysis.
-
CNN's Amanpour to secretary of state: Is leader of Khorasan Group dead?
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday that he "can't personally confirm" whether the leader of terrorist organization Khorasan Group was killed in airstrikes.
Overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, airstrikes were carried out against five more targets, four in Iraq and one in Syria, a U.S. official told CNN. There was one strike by a U.S. aircraft and another by a coalition plane on an ISIS staging area near the Iraqi border but inside Syria, northwest of Al Qa'im, damaging eight ISIS vehicles. -
Kerry: 'This will take time'
The secretary of state confirmed there will "definitely" be a third day of strikes in Syria. "This is going to go on," he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. Kerry said everyone is "fixated" on strikes but should keep in mind that strikes against ISIS and other terrorists are a "broad" and long-term effort. -
Kerry: ISIS not gone, but 'onslaught' stopped
Conceding that U.S. airstrikes haven't flushed out ISIS in Iraq, Kerry said the strikes nonetheless have "stopped the onslaught" of violence in parts of the country. Airstrikes have been effective in halting ISIS' march toward Irbil and Baghdad and taking other important territory, he told Amanpour. -
Kerry: Allies recognize 'fundamental evil' of ISIS
ISIS militants "raised the threat level" to such a degree, the international community knows it must fight against them. "It's a fight that involves all of us," Kerry told Amanpour. The Islamist fighters' barbaric methods challenge basic human values and stability of states in the Middle East, Kerry said, and those who are working with the United States to degrade and defeat ISIS recognize the "fundamental evil" that ISIS fighters are committing. -
Kerry to CNN's Amanpour: A 'massive' ISIS retreat not coming soon
Battling ISIS in Iraq will take time, in part because the Iraqi military needs to be reconstituted, and because it will take time to arrange local support for battling the militants -- support similar to the Sunni Awakening during the Iraq war that mobilized years ago, Kerry said.
U.S. airstrikes alone aren't designed to defeat ISIS , he said. "You and others should not be looking for some massive retreat in the next week or two," Kerry said. -
White House spokesman to CNN: Obama's speech will be 'optimistic'
Josh Earnest told CNN "New Day" anchor Chris Cuomo that President Barack Obama's speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday morning will convey a "forward-looking, optimistic vision" concerning several global issues. Beyond ISIS, Obama will talk about a coalition to 'confront Iran" to bring the nation into compliance with international law governing nuclear weapons. -
Ex-Rep. Ron Paul doesn't need to hear Obama's speechObama's war against ISIS in Syria is illegal, unconstitutional and will only increase the dangers America faces ––> http://t.co/RD4YypVpM6Sep. 23, 2014
- Reply
- Retweet
- Favorite
-
Catch-22?Obama's #Syria dilemma: Does hurting #ISIS help al-Assad? Here are the challenges he faces http://t.co/PusuCXRMo3 http://t.co/W0We8ZtvyY
Sep. 24, 2014- Reply
- Retweet
- Favorite
-
Congressman OK with keeping secret the Khorasan Group strike
Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, told CNN's Carol Costello on Wednesday morning that he is fine with the Obama administration not telling Congress about the U.S. attack on the Khorasan Group, a collection of senior al Qaeda members who have moved into Syria.
King said he's known about the group for weeks, and he added that telling only a select few about plans to strike militants who could attack the U.S. was probably the only way to carry out the surprise strike. "You can't have 435 commanders in chief," King said, referring to the probable difficulty in having all representatives know that secret and keep it under wraps.
Check out the differences between ISIS, al Nusra and the Khorasan Group -
Hit one enemy, help another?
Read this look at ISIS and al-Assad for insight about whether attacking the militant group could actually help the President of Syria. -
-
Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto is covering the President's speech, on air now with Wolf Blitzer.Questions about the airstrikes against ISIS? join me today for a Facebook chat at 12p ET http://t.co/Ipra2CfdPj http://t.co/4ptmnT9VXo
Sep. 24, 2014- Reply
- Retweet
- Favorite
-
Jake Tapper, CNN's chief Washington correspondent, is also covering the President's speech and talks about the huge number of Syrians who fled into Turkey to save themselves from strikes in Syria. What does the humanitarian crisis mean?200,000 flee in biggest displacement of Syrian conflict, monitor says http://t.co/3W4cS9T61U - @arwaCNN reports for #TheLeadSep. 23, 2014
- Reply
- Retweet
- Favorite
-
Obama has started his speech
He said "the very existence" of the United Nations "is a unique achievement – the people of the world committing to resolve their differences peacefully, and solve their problems together. I often tell young people in the United States that this is the best time in human history to be born, for you are more likely than ever before to be literate, to be healthy, and to be free to pursue your dreams." -
Obama names Ebola, Russian aggression and terrorism as huge problemsHe told the United Nations: "As we gather here, an outbreak of Ebola overwhelms public health systems in West Africa, and threatens to move rapidly across borders. Russian aggression in Europe recalls the days when large nations trampled small ones in pursuit of territorial ambition. The brutality of terrorists in Syria and Iraq forces us to look into the heart of darkness."
-
-
Obama calls for 'urgent' action
The President implored: "Each of these problems demands urgent attention. But they are also symptoms of a broader problem – the failure of our international system to keep pace with an interconnected world. We have not invested adequately in the public health capacity of developing countries.
"Too often, we have failed to enforce international norms when it’s inconvenient to do so. And we have not confronted forcefully enough the intolerance, sectarianism and hopelessness that feeds violent extremism in too many parts of the globe." -
-
-
-
President Obama calls on world leaders to join coalition of nations fighting ISIS in Syria: cnn.it/1vgclOs http://pbs.twimg.com/media/ByTgQAICQAAFfRa.jpg
Sep. 24, 2014- Reply
- Retweet
- Favorite
-
-
'Impose a cost on Russia'
U.S. President Barack Obama said at the United Nations: "America and our allies will support the people of Ukraine as they develop their democracy and economy. We will reinforce our NATO allies, and uphold our commitment to collective defense. We will impose a cost on Russia for aggression, and counter falsehoods with the truth." -
Some analysis from CNN's Elise LabottLast year POTUS said he would focus on #MiddleEast peace and #iran nuke deal for rest of term. Each only one graph this yearSep. 24, 2014
- Reply
- Retweet
- Favorite
-
-
Obama quotes JFK
As Obama began talking about ISIS and terrorism in his speech at the United Nations, he quoted former President John F. Kennedy.
"Terror is not a new weapon," Obama said. "Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example." -
-
Obama: 'No God condones terror'
"No grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning -- no negotiation -- with this brand of evil," the President said, referring to terrorists. "The only language understood" by such killers "is the language of force. So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death."Pres. Obama: Today the Security Council will adopt a resolution that underscores the responsibility of states to counter violent extremism.Sep. 24, 2014- Reply
- Retweet
- Favorite
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Obama: No 'clash of civilizations'
"We reject any suggestion of a class of civilizations," Obama told the United Nations. "Belief in permanent religious war is the misguided refuge of extremists who cannot build or create anything."""The task of rejecting sectarianism and extremism is a generational task, and a task for the people of the Middle East themselves." —ObamaSep. 24, 2014- Reply
- Retweet
- Favorite
-
Obama mentions Ferguson, Missouri
The President told the United Nations that it is true that the U.S. wrestles with its own problems. He referred to the recent police shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, as an incident that revealed "we have our own racial and ethnic tension."POTUS mentions Ferguson at UN: "yes, we have our own racial and ethnic tensions"Sep. 24, 2014- Reply
- Retweet
- Favorite
-
Obama: Campaign against terrorism must go beyond 'narrow security challenge'
The President noted that even though al Qaeda has been degraded around the world, we must address persistent problems that cannot be solved with security strategy alone. He said that in some places in the Middle East and North Africa, a "quarter of the young people have no job; food and water could grow scarce; corruption is rampant; and sectarian conflicts have become increasingly hard to contain." -
-
Obama: A resolution for United Nations
The Security Council will adopt a resolution later Wednesday that "underscores the responsibility of the states to counter violent extremism. But resolutions must be followed by tangible commitments, so we're accountable when we fall short. Next year, we should all be prepared to announce the concrete steps that we have taken to counter extremist ideologies. ..." the President said. -
-
Obama's closing remarks
"I've seen a longing for positive change -- for peace and freedom and opportunity -- in the eyes of young people I've met around the globe," Obama told the United Nations. "They remind me that no matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like, or what God you pray to, or who you love, there is something fundamental that we all share."
He quoted Eleanor Roosevelt, who championed the United Nations and America's role in the body. She once said, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places close to home ... so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world."
At this "crossroads," the United States will not be "distracted or deterred from what must be done." He implored that the United Nations "join us in this common mission, for today's children and tomorrow's." -
-
Obama comments on Russia a risk?
The President said that "we will impose a cost on Russia for aggression," a forceful statement that CNN's chief Washington correspondent, Jake Tapper, said was risky considering that Russia has a seat at the U.N. Security Council and might not cooperate with the U.S. as a result.
David Gergen, a senior CNN political analyst who has served as an adviser to four U.S. presidents, said after Obama's speech that he was surprised the President didn't talk about what the U.S. and its allies plan next in Syria. -
Will speech reach young people in the Middle East?
CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon, now on the Turkey/Syria border, said that while the President's United Nations speech was articulate, his words probably will not resonate with those being lured to to fight with ISIS or other extremists.
Obama's sentiments about the U.S. not being at war with Islam must be "echoed by top Sunni clergy," Damon said. Allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia must also help stress that message, she said. -
