Obama: ”Significant progress” against Islamic State by end of term

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed confidence those opposing the Islamic State group will “prevail,” and said he thinks there will be “significant progress” in that effort by the time he leaves office. In an interview with NPR News released Monday, Obama called Islamic State a “virulent, nasty organization,” but stressed that the worst damage the […]

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed confidence those opposing the Islamic State group will “prevail,” and said he thinks there will be “significant progress” in that effort by the time he leaves office.
In an interview with NPR News released Monday, Obama called Islamic State a “virulent, nasty organization,” but stressed that the worst damage the militants could do to the United States is if people change their way of life and values.
“It is also important for us to keep things in perspective, and this is not an organization that can destroy the United States,” he said.  “This is not a huge industrial power that can pose great risks to us institutionally or in a systematic way.  But they can hurt us, and they can hurt our people and our families.  And so I understand why people are worried.”
More than a year ago the president authorized the beginning of a U.S.-led air campaign in Iraq and Syria to go after the militants.  Since then, coalition planes have conducted about 9,000 airstrikes, and Obama said Islamic State has lost 40 percent of the populated territory it once controlled.
But the militants still hold large areas, including major cities in both Syria and Iraq, bringing criticism of the U.S. response and calls for Obama to send in American ground troops.