President Obama acknowledged the challenge that we face, calling the situation in Iraq and Syria “one of the most complex the world has seen in recent times.” The President said, “None of us are under any illusions. We’re all aware of the many potential pitfalls, and there are plenty of reasons for skepticism. But history would judge us harshly if we did not do our part in at least trying to end this terrible conflict with diplomacy.”

President Obama also discussed the efforts of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL and underscored that we are seeing results. He stated, “over the past two months…just about all of our military partners have agreed to increase their contributions, buying into our conception of how we ramp us the pressure on ISIL. Dutch aircraft are now striking ISIL targets in Syria. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are expanding their role in the air campaign. Canada is tripling its personnel to help train and advise forces in Iraq.”

The President continued, “Every day, our air campaign — more than 10,000 strikes so far — continues to destroy ISIL forces, infrastructure and heavy weapons. ISIL fighters are learning that they’ve got no safe haven.”

Despite gains we’ve made in the fight against ISIL, President Obama reiterated, “the only way to deal with ISIL in a way that defeats them in a lasting way is to end the chaos and the civil war that has engulfed Syria. That’s how ISIL was able to thrive in the first place.” 

President Obama thanked Secretary Kerry and his team for their efforts to reach a cessation of hostilities in the civil war and urged that all must do their part to end the conflict with diplomacy. The President said, “If implemented — and that’s a significant ‘if’ — this cessation could reduce the violence and get more food and aid to Syrians who are suffering and desperately need it. It could save lives. Potentially, it could also lead to negotiations on a political settlement to end the civil war so that everybody can focus their attention on destroying ISIL.”

President Obama continued, “All parties that are part of the cessation of activities need to end attacks, including aerial bombardment. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach areas under siege. And a lot of that is going to depend on whether the Syrian regime, Russia, and their allies live up to their commitments. The coming days will be critical, and the world will be watching. More broadly, this is going to be a test of whether the parties are truly committed to negotiations.”

President Obama then pointed out that we continue to go after ISIL, wherever it tries to take root, and made clear that, “even as we continue our military and counterterrorism efforts, we also recognize that it’s not enough to defeat ISIL on the battlefield. We’re going to have to defeat its ideology, which radicalizes, recruits, and inspires people to violence.” The President recognized the efforts of the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia to discredit ISIL propaganda and said the United States “will do more to lift up voices that expose ISIL as the murderers that they are — killers of innocent Muslim men, women and children.”  The President also pointed to his administration’s effort to work with high-tech leaders in Silicon Valley, including Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to help counter ISIL online and to empower more people, “especially young people, to use their talents and technology to push back on ISIL’s propaganda.”