Obama says Islamic State militants are "going to lose" as he asks Congress for military force authorization.
The president on Wednesday asked Congress to authorize military force to "degrade and defeat" ISIS militants in the Middle East without sustained, large-scale ground operations. Obama says his request won't turn into another ground war like the U.S. fought in Iraq and Afghanistan because it's not necessary to defeat ISIS.
Pres says 3 year during of AUMF not a timetable, but so Congress can revisit early in next presidency. pic.twitter.com/J37s7WiEbo— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 11, 2015
But the president says he could deploy special forces if the U.S. had actionable intelligence about where ISIS leaders were gathering, for example.
Obama says the mission is difficult and will stay that way for some time. But he says the U.S.-led coalition is on the offensive.