Obama says ISIS will have no safe haven anywhere, but rules out ground troops

US President Barack Obama said that more nations must come forward and contribute to the global efforts to help end the crisis in Syria and Iraq.

Antalya: Calling on the nations to contribute more resources to eliminate the threat of ISIS, US President Barack Obama on Monday said that his government's strategy to fight “this evil network” is robust and constant.

Obama said that his government is currently not considering deployment of US troops on the ground to fight ISIS but its military will continue to focus on eliminating militant strongholds through airstrikes and other measures.

He further said that unless there is a support or desire for inclusive governments in places like Syria, where the ISIS has spread its tentacles, deployment of ground troops will be futile. Past lessons have shown that when militants are eliminated, countries without a suitable political leadership fall into a crisis, as there is no one suitable to take over the reins, he said.

“We must have a robust and constant counter-terror mechanism, which means constant sharing of intelligence within our partners,” Obama told reporters.

Also Read: Global arrest warrant for brother tied to Paris terror attacks

For the first time, all key countries have agreed to help end the civil war in Syria, which is the main reason for the crisis, he said.

He said that more nations must come forward and contribute to the global efforts to help end the crisis in Syria and Iraq.

“We have stepped up our support to the opposition forces who are ready to fight the ISIS in Syria and Iraq,” he said.

“The ISIS will have no safe haven anywhere. Their twisted ideology, their complete disregard for innocent lives and their willingness to die have posed a challenge, but we are on constant alert to disrupt their activities,” Obama said.

“Our military strategy is to ramp up air strikes against IS targets, strengthening of the Iraqi and Syrian forces fighting the IS, reducing their financial capabilities, taking out high value targets, and so on. So we will further accelerate these activities that we are already doing,” he said.

“Any wining strategy has to be the one that we can sustain,” he added.