Obama Asks All Nations to Join Fight Against ISIL

By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2014 - President Barack Obama was blunt during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly today: "The terrorist group known as ISIL must be degraded, and ultimately destroyed."

He called on all countries to join the 40 who already have joined the effort against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The extremists have terrorized everyone in their path in Iraq and Syria, have used rape as a weapon of war and have gunned down innocent children, Obama said, and there have been mass killings and systematic genocide against religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. "In the most horrific crimes imaginable, innocent human beings have been beheaded, with videos of the atrocity distributed to shock the conscience of the world," he added.

No God justifies terror

"No God condones this terror," he continued. "No grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning -- no negotiation -- with this brand of evil. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force."

That being the case, the United States will work with a broad coalition "to dismantle this network of death," the president said.

American warplanes already have hit ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria. Aircraft from other nations are supporting this effort. "We do not act alone," Obama said. "Nor do we intend to send U.S. troops to occupy foreign lands."

U.S. service members

American service members will advise and assist Iraqis and Syrians fighting to reclaim their communities. "We will use our military might in a campaign of airstrikes to roll back ISIL," the president told the world body. "We will train and equip forces fighting against these terrorists on the ground. We will work to cut off their financing and stop the flow of fighters into and out of the region."

Obama asked all nations to join the effort against ISIL.

"Those who have joined ISIL should leave the battlefield while they can," he said. "Those who continue to fight for a hateful cause will find they are increasingly alone. For we will not succumb to threats, and we will demonstrate that the future belongs to those who build -- not those who destroy."