The US President Barack Obama has vowed to to relentlessly hunt down terrorists from “Pakistan to the streets of Paris”.
Speaking during his sixth State of the Union address Obama said “We stand united with people around the world who’ve been targeted by terrorists – from a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris.”
“We will continue to hunt down terrorists and dismantle their networks,” Obama said, adding that “We reserve the right to act unilaterally, as we’ve done relentlessly since I took office, to take out terrorists who pose a direct threat to us and our allies.”
Obama called on Congress to approve new war powers against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.
He argued that US military leadership in Iraq and Syria is stopping ISIL from advancing, but asked lawmakers “to show the world that we are united in this mission” with a war authorisation vote.
“Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group,” Obama said.
In the meantime, the Republican lawmakers have said they are prepared to work with him to pass such a measure, if he sends a proposal up to Capitol Hill.
