Obama calls for broad expansion of US military role in fight against IS

In a high-stakes address to the nation, President Barack Obama outlined a broad expansion of the US military role in combating extremists in Iraq and Syria, including a call for arming Syrian opposition forces and potentially launching air strikes in both countries.

Obama has told congressional lawmakers that he has the authority to proceed with much of his plan without their formal approval.

However, he is seeking authorisation from Congress for the train-and-equip operation for Syrian rebels, a request he first made earlier this summer.

House Republicans threw a roadblock in front of those plans yesterday by not including the measure in a temporary funding measure.

It was unclear whether Republicans were rejecting the request or would leave open another avenue.

On the Senate floor, Democratic leader Harry Reid urged quick authorisation of the president’s request to help arm moderate opposition forces in Syria.

He also backed another key element of Mr Obama’s proposal: the formation of a coalition of countries in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere that would also contribute military and political assistance.

“Going it alone is not going to work,” said Mr Reid. “We must have the support of the international community if we’re to rid the world of ISIS.”

For Mr Obama, a sustained US intervention in the Middle East is at odds with the vision he had for the region when he ran for president on a pledge to end the war in Iraq, where the role of American fighting forces drew to a close nearly three years ago.

The timing of his announcement last night was all the more striking, just hours before anniversary commemorations of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Earlier yesterday, Obama spokewith Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, ahead of a gathering of Arab leaders on their contributions to a global coalition against the Islamic State.