Officials about just that. Reporter the head of kurdish intelligence told us its essential that the United States strike isis in syria because thats where isis leadership and strength are. Secondly, he said his lightly armed troops here in Northern Iraq need heavy weapons from the United States, like tanks and artillery. We visited some of those troops on the front today. They were guarding a bridge that leads to the oilrich city of kirkuk. The u. S. Air strikes have allowed them to go on the offensive, but its a battle thats just beginning. Bob. Schieffer thank you, scott. The president last delivered a formal address to the nation one year ago tonight. In that speech, he was talking about the threat of chemical weapons in syria. Now, here is the president. My fellow americans, tonight i want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as isil. As commanderinchief, my highest priority is the security of the American People. Over the last several years, we have consistently taken the fight to terrorists who threaten our country. We took out Osama Bin Laden and much of al qaedas leadership in afghanistan and pakistan. Weve targeted al qaedas affiliate in yemen, and recently eliminated the Top Commander of its affileate in somalia. Weve done so while bringing more than 140,000 american troops home from iraq, and drawing down our combat mission will end later this year. Thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, america is safer. Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat. We cant erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9 11, and that remains true today. Thats why we must remain vigilant as threats emerge. At this moment, the greatest threats come from the middle east and north africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those groups is isil, which calls itself the islamic state. Now, lets make two things cle clear isil is not islamic. No religion condones the killing of innocents and the vast majority of isils victims have been muslims. And isil is certainly not a state. It was formally al qaedas affiliate in iraq and has taken advantage of sectarianian strife, and syrias civil war to gain territory on both sides of the iraqsyria border. It is recognized by no government, nor by the people it subjugates. Isil is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way. In a roogz that has known so much bloodshed, shes terrorists are unique this their brutality. They execute captured prisoners. They kill children. They enclave, rape, and force women into marriage. They threaten the religious minority with genocide. And in acts of barbarism, they took the lives of two american journalists, jim foley and steven sotloff. So isil poses a threat to the people of iraq and syria and the broader middle east, including american citizens, personnel, and facilities. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region, including to the United States. While we have not yet detected specific plotting against our homeland, isil leaders have threatened america and our allies. Our Intelligence Community believes that thousands of foreigners, including europeans and some americans, have joined them in syria and iraq, trained and battle hardened, these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks. I know Many Americans are concerned about these threats. Tonight, i want you to know that the United States of america is meeting them with strength and resolve. Last month i ordered our military to take targeted action against isil to stop its advances. Since then, weve conducted more than 150 Successful Air strikes in iraq. These strikes have protected american personnel and facilities, killed isil fighters, destroyed weapons, and given space for iraqi and Kurdish Forces to reclaim key territory. These strikes have also helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. R but this is not our fight alone. American power can make a decisive difference but we cannot do for iraqis what they must do for themselves, nor can we take the place of arab partners this securing their region. Thats why ive insisted that additional u. S. Action depended upon iraqis forming an inclusive government, which they have now done in recent days. So tonight, with a new Iraqi Government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and congress at home, i can announce america will lead a Broad Coalition to roll back this terrorist threat. Our objective is clear we will degrade and ultimately destroy isil through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy. First, we will conduct a Systematic Campaign of air strikes against these terrorists. Working with the Iraqi Government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions so that were hitting isil targets as iraqi forces go on offense. Moreover, ive made it clear we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country wherever they are. That means i will not hesitate to take action against isil in syria, as well as iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency. If you threaten america, you will find no safe haven. Second, we will increase our support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground in june i deployed several hundred American Service members to iraq to assess how we can best support Iraqi Security forces. Now that those teams have completed their work and iraq has formed a government, we will send an additional 475 Service Members to iraq. As ive said before, these American Forces will not have a combat mission. We will not get dragged into another ground war in iraq but they are needed to support iraqi and Kurdish Forces with training, intelligence, and equipment. Well useless support iraqs efforts to stand up National Guard units to help sunni communities secure their own freedom from isils control. Across the border in syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the syrian opposition. Tonight, i call on congress again to give us additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters. In the fight against isil, we cannot rely on an assad regime that terrorizes its own people, a regime that will never regain the legitimacy it has lost. Instead, we must strengthen the opposition as the best counterweight to extremists like isil while pursuing the political solution necessary to solve syrias crise once and for all. Third, we will continue to draw on our substantial cunterterrorism capabilities to prevent isil attacks. Working with our partners, we will redouble our efforts to cut off its fund, improve our intelligence, strengthen our defenses, counter its warped idol, and stem the flow of foreign fighters into and out of the middle east. And in two weeks, i will chair a meeting of the u. N. Security council to further mobilize the International Community around this effort. Fourth, we will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who have been displaced by this terrorist organization. This includes sunni and shia muslims who are at grave risk as well as tens of thousands of christians and other religious minoritys. We cannot allow these communities to be driven from their ancient homelands. So this is our strategy, and in each of these four part of our strategy, america will be joined by a Broad Coalition of partners. Already, allies are flying planes with us over iraq sending arms and assistance to Iraqi Security forces and the syrian opposition, sharing intelligence, and providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid. Secretary kerry was in iraq today meeting with the new government and supporting their efforts to promote unity, and in the coming days he will travel across the middle east and europe to enlist more partners in this fight, especially arab nations who can help mobilize sunni communities in iraq and syria to drive these terrorists from their lands. This is American Leadership at its best. We stand with people who fight for their own freedom, and we rally other nations on behalf of our Common Security and common humanity. My administration has also secured bipartisan support for this approach here at home. I have the authority to address the threat from isil, but i believe we are strongest as a nation when the president and Congress Work together. So i welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that americans are united in confronting this danger. Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like isil. And any time we take military action, there are risks involved, especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions. But i want the American People to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in iraq and afghanistan. It will not be involve american combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This Counterterrorism Campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out isil wherever they exist using our airpower, and our support for partners forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us while supporting partners on the front lines is one that we have successfully pursued in yemen and somalia for years and it is consistent with the ai outlined earlier this year. To use force against anyone who threatens americas core interests but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order. My fellow americans, we live in a time of great change. Tomorrow marks 13 years since our country was attacked. Next week marks six years since our economy suffered its worst setback since the great depression. Yet, despite these shocks, through the pain we felt and the grueling work required to bounce back, america is better positioned today to seize the future than any other nation on earth. Our Technology Companies and universities are unmatched. Our manufacturing and Auto Industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than ever been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the longest, uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history, despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy. I see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American People every single day. And that makes me more confident than ever about our countrys future. Aabroad, American Leadership is the one constant in an uncertain world. It is america that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists. It is america that has rallied the world against russian aggression, and in support of the ukrainian people peoples o determine their own destiny. It is america our scientists, our doctors, our anyhow that can help contain and cure the outbreak of ebola. It is america that helped remove and destroy syrias chemical weapons so they cant pose a threat to the Syrian People or the world again. And it is america that is helping muslim communities around the world, not just in the fight against terrorism but in the fight for opportunity and tolerance and a more hopeful future. America, our endless blessings bestow an enduring burden. But as americans, we welcome our responsibility to lead. From europe to asia, from the far reaches of africa to wartorn capitals of the middle east, we stand for freedom, for justice, for dignity. These are value values that have guided our nation since its founding. Tonight, i ask for your support in carrying that leadershiped for. I do so as a commander in chief who could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform, pilots who bravely fly in the face of danger above the middle east, and servicemembers who support our partners on the ground. When we helped prevent the massacre of civilians trapped on a distant mountain, heres what one of them said, we owe our american friends our lives. Our children will always remember that there was someone who felt our struggle and made a long journey to protect innocent people. That is the difference we make in the world. In our own safety, our own security, depend upon our willingness to do what it takes to defend this nation and uphold the values that we stand for. Timeless ideals that will endure long after those who offer only hate and destruction have been vanquished from the earth. May god bless our troops, and may god bless the United States of america. Schieffer so the president of the United States lays out a strategy to defeat and destroy isis, or as theyre sometimes called, isil. And this speech tonight shows us a real evolution in where the president was just in the last week of august, when he said we cant put the cart before the horse. We have we dont have a strategy yet. Tonight, i think the key words that he spoke were if you threaten america, you will find no safe haven. He went on to say hes going to expand and intensify the air war. He will go after the terrorists wherever they are, including syria. Now, this represents a major change in american strategy. I think he also said hes going to send about 400 more american troops there to aid in support roles that will bring the population of American Military there to about 1500. There will be a lot more about the president s address on your local news on this cbs station, first thing tomorrow on cbs this morning and online at cbsnews. Com. For many of you, cbs primetime programming is coming right up. For some in the west well be back with the cbs evening news. Im Bob Schieffer in new york. And you have just been watching president obama lay out his plan to take on the terrorist group isis. In a major reversal the president ordered the u. S. Into a broad military campaign to destroy the militant group blazing a trail of brutality across iraq and syria. He is authorizing air strikes inside syria for the first time as well as an expansion of strikes in iraq. The u. S. Will also dispatch nearly 500 more troops to assist Security Forces in iraq. But the president adamantly ruled out the prospects of placing any american troops in a combat role. Were joined live tonight with a new Iraqi Government in place and following consultations with allies abroad and congress at home, i can announce that america will lead a Broad Coalition to roll back this terrorist threat. Our objective is clear. We will degreat and ultimately destroy degrade and ultimately destroy isil. We are joined now live by Thomas Henricks son a senior fellow at the whoever institution at the Hoover Institution at stanford. Thank you for being with us. What did make of the president s speech . Did he say what he had to . Well, in some regards he outlined the change in strategy or emphasis with the idea of carrying out air strikes. He didnt specify whether they would be drone or they would just be piloted strikes in syria. That is a change. He also announced 400 additional troops put into iraq which brings the total to around 1500 in iraq currently. But he assured the American People that this was not going to turn into a ground war involving thousands of troops in iraq who which just pulled out in december of 2011. So thats not going to be a repeat. So i think the idea was to reassure the American People that he is doing things to reassure them of their safety is intact but on the other hand to alert them that this is going to be a long struggle that there are dangers to our allies and countries in the middle east. Do we have the ability to pull off these strikes in syria . We had good intelligence when the United States was at war with thousands of troops in iraq because we had fusion cells which brought together agents from the cia and the military special forces and other agencies, the fbi, the Defense Intelligence agency and so on, all working together pulling together bits of information and being very good at getting it out quickly to the forces that were going to implement attacks. I want to talk about the president s strategy. Hes saying that he doesnt want boots on the ground. How realistic is this when we look back at the past when u. S. Forces were training iraqi forces. How realistic is this strategy . Well, its a shortterm strategy. I dont think he he kept mentioning that he wanted to degrade and defeat the isil, or isis or the islamic state. But on the other hand, you can only do so much with air. You can blow up some vehicles. You can blow up a troops concentration. But if the insurgents go to ground, if they hide out they will be hard to get out. And we had enormous forces in iraq and afghanistan but it still requires boots on the ground, soldiers doing all sorts of things, to ferret out the enemy. I dont think its realistic. I think what the president wants to do is do something i think against al qaeda, that is to say take out some of the Senior Leadership and hope its diminished. On that note, ho