129 people were killed in paris on friday night. Isil claimed responsibility, sending the message that they could now target civilians all of the world. Is it time for your strategy to change . Pres. Obama keep in mind what we have been doing. Thatve a military strategy involves putting enormous pressure on isil through puttrikes that has assistance and training on the ground with iraqi forces who are now working with Syrian Forces to squeeze isil and cut off their supply lines. We have been working internationally to reduce their financing capabilities, the oil they are trying to ship outside. We are taking strikes against highvalue targets, including most recently against the individual who was on the video executing civilians who had already been captured as well as the head of isil in libya so its not just iraq and syria. Front,on the military we are continuing to accelerate what we do as we find additional partners on the ground that are effective, we work with them more closely. I have authorized Additional Special forces on the ground who will be able to improve that coordination. Front,counterterrorism keep in mind that since i cant office, since i came into office we have been worried about these kinds of attacks. Vigilance the United States government maintains and the cooperation we are consistently expanding with our european and other partners in going after every single terrorist network is robust and constant. Meet withweeks ive my entire National Security team and we go over every threat stream presented. Where we have relevant information we share with our counterparts in and around the world. And in Aviation Security we have been working so that at various airport sites, not just the United States but overseas, we are strengthening our mechanisms to screen and discover passengers who should not be boarding flights, and improving the matters in which we are screening luggage that is going on board. On the diplomatic front, we have been consistently working to try to get all parties together to recognize that there is a moderate opposition inside of syria that can form the basis for a transition government and to reach out not only to our friends but also to the russians and iranians who are on the other side of this to explain to them that ultimately an organization bike isil is the greatest danger to them as well as to us. There will be an intensification of the strategy that we put forward, but the strategy that we are putting forward is the strategy that ultimately will work. As i said from the start, it will take time. What has been interesting is in the aftermath of paris as i listen to those who suggest ,omething else needs to be done typically the things they suggest need to be done are things we are already doing. Is that thereion have been a few who suggested we should put large numbers of u. S. Troops on the ground. Mind we have the finest military in the world and the finest military minds in the world. I have been meeting with them ,ntensively for years now discussing these various options. It is not just my view, that the view of my closest military and civilian advisers that would be a mistake. That that would be a mistake. Not just because our military could march into mosul or ramadi and temporarily clear out we would see ase repetition of what weve seen before which is if you do not have local populations that are committed to inclusive and who are pushing back against ideological extremes, that they resurface. To have aare prepared permanent occupation of these countries. Lets assume we were to send 50,000 troops into syria. What happens when there is a terrorist attack generated from yemen . Do we then send the troops there, or libya . Or if there is a terrorist Network Operating anywhere else in north africa . Or in Southeast Asia . A strategy has to be one that can be sustained. The strategy we are pursuing, which focuses on going after targets, limiting wherever possible the capabilities of isil on the ground systematically going after their leadership and infrastructure, strengthening syrian and iraqi forces and Kurdish Forces prepared to fight them, cutting and squeezingers, the space in which they can operate until we are ultimately able to defeat them, that is the strategy we will have to pursue and we will continue to generate more partners and for that and there will be things that dont work and some strategies we try to do work. When we find what does we will double down. Margaret, cbs. Thank you mr. President. A more than your long Bombing Campaign in iraq and syria has to contain the ambition and ability of isis to launch attacks in the west. Have you underestimated their abilities and will you widen the rules of engagement for u. S. Forces to take more aggressive action . Pres. Obama we havent underestimated our abilities, this is precisely why we are in iraq as we speak and operating in syria as we speak. Have precisely why we mobilized 65 countries to go after isil. And why i hosted, at the United Nations, an entire discussion of counterterrorism strategies and curbing the flow of foreign fighters. And why we have been putting pressure on those countries that have not been as robust as they need to be in tracking the flow of foreign fighters in and out of syria and iraq. Been an acute awareness on the part of my administration from the start ant it is possible for organization like iso like isil that has such a twisted ideology and has shown such extort mary brutality and extraordinary brutality and disregard for innocent lives that they would have the capabilities to potentially strike in the west and because thousands of fighters have flowed from the west and our european citizens. A few hundred from the United States but far more from europe that, when those fighters return, it poses a significant danger. Worked withistently our European Partners, this groups in disrupting some cases, sadly this one was not disrupted in time. Understand that one of the challenges we have is if you have a handful of people who dont mind dying, they can kill a lot of people. Thats one of the challenges of terrorism. Ors not their sophistication the weapons they possess, but it is the ideology they carry with them and their willingness to die. In most circumstances, tracking each individual, making sure that we are disrupting and preventing these attacks is a constant effort in vigilance. It requires extraordinary coordination. Part of the reason that is important in what we do in iraq and syria is that the narrative that isil developed of creating this caliphate makes it more attractive to potential recruits. When i said that we are containing their spread and iraq in fact they control less territory than they did last year. The more we shrink that territory, the less they can pretend that they are somehow a functioning state, and the more it becomes apparent that they are simply a network of killers who are brutalizing local populations. That allows us to reduce the flow of foreign fighters which then, over time, will lessen the number of terrorists that can potentially carry out terrible acts like in paris. Thats what we did with al qaeda. That doesnt mean that al qaeda no longer possesses the capabilities of potentially qaeda andhe west, al the peninsula that operates primarily in yemen has consistently tried to target the west. We are consistently working to disrupt those acts. That they havet not gotten as much attention as isil, they still pose a danger. Our goals here consistently have and too be aggressive leave no stone unturned, but also recognize this is not conventional warfare. Narrativeto the isil when we act like their state they are a state. And we use routine military tactics that are designed to fight a state that is attacking another state. Thats not whats going on here. These are killers. Glory. Ve fantasies of they are very savvy when it comes to social media. And they are able to infiltrate the minds of not just iraqis or disaffected individuals around the world. When they activate those individuals, those individuals can do a lot of damage. Ofhave to take the approach being rigorous on counterterrorism efforts and consistently improve and figure out how we can get more information and infiltrate these networks and reduce their operational space even as we amount ofo shrink the territory they control to defeat their narrative. Reclaim territory the them, it will require ending of the Syrian Civil War which is by diplomatic efforts are so important. And it will require an effective hiaqi effort that bridges sd sunni differences. Thank you mr. President. In the days and weeks before the terrorist attacks, did you receive warning in your daily intelligence briefing that an attack was imminent . If not, did that not call in to question the Current Assessment that there is no immediate specific credible threat to the United States today . Secondly, if i could ask you to address your critics who say you are reluctant to enter another middle eastern war and your preference of diplomacy over using the military makes the United States weaker and emboldens our enemies . Day webama jim, every have threat streams coming through the intelligence transit. Every several weeks, we sit down with all of my National Security intelligence and military teams to discuss various threat streams that may be generated. The concerns about potential is il attacks in the west have been there for over a year now. They come through periodically. There were no specific mentions of this particular attack that would give us a sense of something that we need, that we could provide french authorities, for example. Or act on ourselves. Typically, the way the intelligence works is there will be a threat stream that is from one source. How reliable is that source, perhaps some signal in intelligence gets picked up. It is evaluated. Some of it is extraordinarily vague and unspecific and theres no clear timetable. Some of it may be more specific and folks chased on that thread to see what happens. I am not aware of anything specific in the sense of giving a premonition about an action in for lawat would allow enforcement or military actions to disrupt it. With respect to the broader , to somemy critics degree i answered earlier. I think that when you listen to what they actually have to say, what they are proposing, most of the time when pressed, they describe things we are already doing. Maybe they are not aware we are doing them. Some of them seem to think that if i were just more bellicose in expressing what we were doing, that would make a difference. That seems to be the only thing they are doing. Talking as if they are tough. I have not seen particular strategies that they would suggest that would make a real difference. There are a few exceptions. Is thosery exception who would deploy u. S. Troops on a large scale to retake territory either in iraq or in syria. The honestyy have to go ahead and say thats what they would do. I just addressed why i think they are wrong. There have been some who are wellmeaning. Their sincerity when it comes to the issue of dire humanitarian situations in syria. For example calling for a nofly zone or a safe son of some sort. Safe zone of some sort. This is an issue where i will sit down with our top military and intelligence advisers and we will painstakingly go through what Something Like that looks like. Typically after we have gone through a lot of planning and discussion and working it through, it is determined that it would be counterproductive to take both steps, in part because isil does not have planes. The attacks are on the ground. A true saison requires us to set zone a true safe requires us to set up ground operations. The situations have come about not because of regime bombing but because of on the ground casualties. Who would come in, who would come out of that saison . Ford become a magnet further terrorist attacks . How many personnel would be required question mark there are a whole set of questions that have to be answered there. My only interest is to end suffering and keep the American People safe. If there is a good idea out there, we will do it. I dont think ive shown hesitation to act, whether its respect to bin laden or respect to sending additional troops in afghanistan or keeping them there. It is determined that it would actually work. But what we do not do, what i do actions eitherke because it is going to work politically or it is going to , in the abstract, make america look tough. Or make me look tough. Maybe part of the reason is because every few months i go to walter reed. I see a 25yearold kid paralyzed or has lost his limbs. Some of those are people ive ordered into battle. To play some of the political games others may. We will do whats required to keep the American People safe. I think its entirely appropriate in a democracy to have a serious debate about these issues. Folks want to pop off and have opinions about what they think they would do. Present a specific plan. If they think that somehow their advisors are better than the chairman of my joint chiefs of staff, and the folks on the ground . I want to meet them. We do have that debate. We can have that debate. What im not interested in is notionor pursuing some of American Leadership or america winning or whatever other slogans they come up with. No relationship to what is actually going to work to protect the American People and to protect people in the region who are getting killed and to protect our allies and people like france. Im too busy for that. Thank you very much mr. President. I wanted to go back to something you said to margaret earlier when you said you had not underestimated isisabilities. This is an organization you teamibed as a jv that is not able to use a safe haven to it launch attacks in other parts of the world. How is that not underestimating their capabilities and how is that contained . I think a lot of americans have this frustration that they see the United States has the greatest military in the world, the backing of nearly every other country when it comes to taking on isis. I guess the question is if you will forgive the language, why cant we take out these pastorates bastards . Pres. Obama i just spent the last three questions answering that. I dont know what more you want me to add. I have described specifically what our strategy is, and very specifically why we do not pursue some of the other strategies that have been suggested. Said, anot, as ive traditional military opponent. We can retake territory. As long as we leave our troops there, we can hold it. That does not solve the underlying problem of eliminating the dynamics that are producing these kinds of violent extremist groups. We are going to continue to pursue the strategy that has the best chance of working, even though it does not offer the headlineion of a neat or an immediate resolution. Part of the reason, as ive said, is because there are costs to the other side. I just want to remind people. Is not an extraction abstraction. \ when we send troops in, they get injured. Our country spends hundreds of billions of dollars and given the fact that there are a enormous sacrifices involved in any military action, it is best shoot first and him later aim later. Its important for us to get the strategy right and the strategy we are pursuing is the right one. Ron allen. Thank you mr. President. I think a lot of people around the world in america are concerned because the strategy you are pursuing, it has been now, thean a year capabilities of isis seem to be expanding. Were you aware they have the capability of pulling off the kind of attack they did in paris . Are you concerned and do you think they have that same capability to strike in the United States . Do you think that, given all youve learned about isis over the past year or so, and given the criticism about your underestimating them, the you think you really understand this enemy well enough to defeat them and protect the homeland . Pres. Obama this is another variation on the same question. Let me try it one last time. Theave been fully aware of potential capabilities of them carrying out a terrorist attack. That is precisely why we have been mounting a very aggressive strategy to go after them. As ive said before. About there talking ability of a handful of people wildly sophisticated whotary equipment, weapons, are willing to die, they can kill a lot of people and preventing them from doing so is challenging for every country. Swift and quick solution to this, i assure you that not just the United States and turkey and others who have been subject to these terrorist attacks would have implemented their strategies. There are certain advantages the United States has in preventing these kinds of attacks. After 9 11 we hardened the homeland, set up a whole series protectional steps to aviation, to apply lessons learned. We have seen better cooperation fbi, State Governments, local governments. There are some advantages to geography with respect to the United States. Having said that, we have seen the possibility of terrorist attacks on our soil. There was the Boston Marathon bombers. Obviously it did not result in the scale of death we saw in but that was a serious attempt at killing a lot of people by two brothers and a crockpot. It gives you some sense of the kinds of challenges that are going to be involved in this going forward. Has serious capabilities. Capabilitiesnique, other terrorist organizations that we track are paying attention to possess as well. We are going after all of them. Is the unique about isil degree to which it has been able to control territory that then allows them to attract additional cruets recruits and the effects they have on social media and the ability to use that to not only attract recruits to fight in syria but carry out attacks in the homeland and europe and other parts of the world. Shrink the space in which they can operate, combined with a resolution of a serious situation which will reduce the freedom with which they feel they can operate, and getting local forces who are able to hold and keep them out over