WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama is distinguishing the military campaign against Islamic State militants from the decade-long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He says the fight must avoid what he calls mistakes of the past.
Obama says under U.S. leadership more nations are joining a coalition against the extremists, who control up to a third of the territory in Iraq and Syria. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says, quote, “This can’t be America’s fight alone.”
Obama this week announced a plan to launch airstrikes in Iraq and Syria and to train and equip moderate Syrian opposition fighters.
In the Republican address, a candidate for a House seat from Arizona, Andy Tobin, says he’s running for Congress because his state is under attack from the federal government. He cites regulations and havoc from Washington and says it’s a problem everywhere.
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Online:
Obama’s address: http://www.whitehouse.gov
Republican address: https://www.youtube.com/user/gopweeklyaddress