France, US to intensify airstrikes against IS in Syria, Iraq

President Obama and French President François Hollande embrace during a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday.

Since the Paris terror attacks on November 13, Hollande has held that France is at war with the terror group and vowed to destroy it.

Obama and Hollande also urged Russia and Turkey not to let the situation escalate after Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally, said it shot down a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border after it repeatedly violated Turkish air space.

During a phone call last week, he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to “closer contact and coordination between the military and security service agencies of the two countries in actions against terrorist groups…in Syria”, according to the Kremlin. In late October, the White House said it planned to drop a few dozen commandos into war-torn Syria to aid in the fight against the Islamic State, but experts then questioned if it was too little, too late.

However, Obama stressed that Turkey has the right to defend its territory and airspace.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the downed jet is a Russian one, refuting the news that the plane crossed the Syrianborder into Turkish skies.

“One woman from Pennsylvania wrote to me to say, ‘Money is tight for us in my household”.

But Hollande received a cooler response from U.S. President Barack Obama when he flew to Washington on Tuesday, with the U.S. reluctant to intensify military action in Syria without a clear strategy or political track in place. “Even as we are vigilant we can not and will not succumb to fear…” Walker said Wednesday. “What kind of intelligence do we have that doesn’t allow the president of the United States to know that there’s a threat on a major global city like Paris? But it’s also a day to count our blessings and give back to others – a reminder that no matter our circumstances, all of us have something to be grateful for”, he said.

Under an intense spotlight, the two leaders discussed a possible expansion in the fight against ISIS.

Russian Federation supports Syrian president President Bashar Al-Assad, while the United States believes he must be removed and supports the Kurds instead.

Estimates of ISIS militants range from 30,000 to 200,000 and the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS has recorded more than 10,000 ISIS deaths since the campaign began nine months ago, said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken. “The refugee crisis and terrorism are all drivers for more populism and such trends can not be a positive thing for the United States in terms of strengthening the transatlantic relationship”. The president has resisted a more extensive involvement in Iraq and Syria, arguing that it would only entangle the United States in another quagmire like those he inherited.