French Parliament Votes on Extending Islamic State Air Strikes

Mart Toner, the deputy spokesman for the U.S. State Department, told reporters at a briefing yesterday that the alert was “based on, obviously, the reality of a series of attacks in Beirut, in Paris, in Mali, and then the threat – very real threat – in Brussels that led to the shutdown of the city”. It was the second day of airstrikes from the carrier that recently arrived off Syria in the Mediterranean.

“On the right stood Barack Obama, President Oh-bummer”.

Scores of heads of state and government, including Obama, will attend the summit that begins next week. He also described it as a “conference on life” as he urged his compatriots not to let the Paris attacks intimidate them or their spirit.

Hollande for his part said that a joint response was needed against Daesh.

“It’s going to be hard and we should not be under any illusions”, Obama said.

[SCREEN WIPE] Russia right now is a coalition of two – Iran and Russia – supporting Assad.

“He has been the problem – he can not be the solution”, Hollande said.

“President Hollande and I agree that the Russia’s strikes against the moderate opposition only bolster the Assad regime, whose brutality has helped to fuel the rise of ISIL”.

He is to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Paris on Sunday. Both Presidents want the support of Russian Federation.

The President encouraged calm and cooperation between the two countries in a region that seems unable to escape the grip of war.

The president spoke during a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande.

Despite the White House’s support for Hollande, the administration has kept the request for more support for military intervention in Syria at bay. “It can not be tolerated”, he said. “There is a new mindset now”, Hollande said.

Someone has suggested that the president “intentionally” said “Daesh AND ISIL”. He says Turkey plays an important role. Earnest claimed France is “a nation that’s concerned about the security situation inside their country…” “We certainly believe that there is more that France and their European partners can do in terms of sharing information among themselves and with the United States“. They called on Russian Federation to join the global efforts, but only if Moscow ends its support for Syria’s embattled president. Also on Tuesday, U.S.-backed Syrian rebels armed with U.S.-supplied anti-tank missiles reportedly shot down a Russian rescue helicopter searching for the pilot of the warplane.

Both Hollande and Obama reiterated their determination to see Assad step down in order to give Syria a chance for peace, with Hollande saying “it should be as soon as possible”.

Obama is speaking after an Oval Office meeting with French President Francois Hollande. He noted that France has agreed to allow 30,000 Syrian refugees, and said the US must not be controlled by fear.

He also said that next to his bed in the White House is a picture of him kissing his wife Michelle in Luxembourg Gardens in Paris.

Obama and Hollande pledged to increase airstrikes against extremist targets, take back Islamic State-controlled territory in Iraq and Syria, and focus more on disrupting the terrorists’ financial networks.

LESTER HOLT: And the incident with that Russian jet managed to overshadow a crucial meeting at the White House today.