Obama calls Hollande from Philippines

President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande hold a joint press conference during Hollande’s state visit on Tuesday, February 11, 2014.

The White House said on Tuesday that Obama was set to host Hollande at the White House on November 24 to coordinate counterterrorism efforts.

At a G20 gathering in Turkey on Sunday, Obama had rejected demands that he put boots on the ground in Syria to fight the IS.

This comment is pointed squarely at the current divide in the ISIS war, with the US-led coalition fighting one anti-ISIS war, and several other nations fighting ISIS, but being excluded by the US.

Hollande said Monday he wants to organize a global coalition to fight the Islamic State, and that he also plans to visit Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.

The special operation in the Parisian suburb of Saint Denis proves that France is now “at war with terrorism”, Hollande said on BFMTV television.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 129 people and left more than 350 wounded.

It would be tough considering that a few of his potential allies, such as the United States and the countries of the Persian Gulf, dream of overthrowing the government of al-Assad.