House Speaker John Boehner has offered his support for “certain options” proposed by President Obama to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, but stopped short of saying he would back a plan to bomb the terrorist group.
During a Tuesday afternoon meeting with the president and congressional leaders at the White House, the Ohio Republican expressed support for some options proposed by the president to combat Islamic State, such as increasing the effectiveness of the Iraqi Security Forces and training and equipping the Syrian opposition.
“The spread of radicalized Islam is a global epidemic and our national objective must be to defeat and destroy” the Islamic State, said a statement released by the speaker’s office. The Republican asked the president to define success “in those terms” when he addresses the nation Wednesday night.
“The speaker made it clear that [the Islamic State] is preparing to fight us, and that as we learned in Syria, the longer we wait, the more difficult our choices become,” said the statement. “It is in the best interests of the United States and our allies to put in place a strategy that rises to the challenge of the threat we face, and takes the fight directly to [the Islamic State] in a decisive fashion.”
The meeting also was attended by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Boehner’s office also said he would support the president “if he chose to deploy the military to help train and play an advisory role for the Iraqi Security Forces and assist with lethal targeting of [Islamic State] leadership.”
“The speaker made clear that the administration should re-examine our border and homeland [security] policies and authorities to determine whether there are loopholes or weaknesses that could expose the homeland to an immediate [Islamic State]-linked attack,” the statement said.
