Obama and hollande pledge to intensify fight against islamic state

In their first meeting since a cascade of shootings and suicide bombings terrorized the French capital on November 13, Obama and President François Hollande resolved to increase cooperation in the battle against the Islamic State, the group that claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Think about the combined military, intelligence, economic and moral power of the United States, Russia, France, Britain, Germany, Canada, Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, just to name a few nations at risk from the terrorists’ drive to subjugate us all.

Amid the ongoing debate about the USA accepting Syrian refugees, President Barack Obama argued providing refuge to some of the world’s most vulnerable people is an American tradition.

Obama cautioned that information about the incident was still emerging and he discouraged escalation.

“It is necessary that everyone agrees and works in the same direction to prevent incidents like the one that occurred between Russian Federation and Turkey…”

The U.S. has deployed more than 3,000 troops to Iraq to train and assist security forces there. Russia, on the other hand, has been Assad’s staunchest ally.

It is rare when the liberals at The Washington Post are openly critical of President Obama, but today is one of those days, as opinion writer Dana Milbank contrasts the stance that French president François Hollande took against terrorism with that of President Oh-bummer-his words-at the White House yesterday.

“And targeting venues where people come together from around the world, killing citizens of almost 20 countries, including America, this was an attack on the very idea that people of different races and religions and backgrounds can live together in peace”, he said. Efforts to train and equip moderate rebel groups in Syria have struggled, and Obama has authorized the deployment of 50 special operations forces to jumpstart the program.

Obama, so far, has resisted pushing direct US involvement to new levels.

Last week, Hollande called for both countries to set aside their policy divisions over Syria and “fight this terrorist army in a broad, single coalition”. Russian Federation has agreed in principle to a new process that would lead to U.N.-supervised elections within 18 months but continues to oppose efforts to explicitly remove Assad.

“It is about taking out their financing, hunting down their leaders, dismantling their networks, and taking back the land they now control”, Hollande said. Russian Federation and Turkey are integral parts of any solution.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the refugee plan and intensify refugee screening measures before lawmakers left Washington for the Thanksgiving break.

He said he has been “touched by the generosity of Americans who’ve written me letters and emails in recent weeks, offering to open their homes to refugees fleeing the brutality of ISIL (Islamic State group)”.