Obama: No ground troops against Islamic State

David Jackson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Obama rejects sending U.S. troops into Syria Speaking from the G20 summit in Turkey, President Obama said it would be a mistake to put U.S. troops on the ground to fight the Islamic State.

Describing the Islamic State as "the face of evil," President Obama said Monday he will continue working with other countries on a coordinated strategy to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the militant group — without U.S. combat troops.

"We have the right strategy and we're going to see it through," Obama said after a Group of 20 nations summit that focused on counter-terrorism in the wake of last week's attacks in Paris.

The president defended a strategy based on air strikes, working with allies on intelligence gathering, and training local military forces. He said that deploying a large U.S. military force to fight the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq — a step recommended by Republican presidential candidates and other critics — would be ineffective.

Military advisers have told him that ground troops "would be a mistake," Obama said during a news conference in Turkey, the site of the G-20 summit.

In addition to likely casualties, Obama said the United States would be put in a position of occupying large parts of Syria and Iraq without any clear way out, as happened after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He said the United States should not "shoot first and aim later," and cited terrorist threats from other nations like Libya and Yemen.

"A strategy has to be one that can be sustained," Obama said.

Instead, the United States is coordinating local military in the forces to fight against the Islamic State, Obama said, and they have pushed the militants back within their self-declared caliphate. The strategy uses all elements of U.S. power, Obama said: "Military, intelligence, economic, development and the strength of our communities."

He and his team understand that "this would be a long-term campaign," Obama said. "There will be setbacks and there will be successes. The terrible events in Paris were obviously a terrible and sickening setback."

In responding to that attack, Obama announced plans to streamline the process by which the United States and France share intelligence information about potential terrorists. He also expressed continued support for diplomacy designed to seek a political settlement in Syria, where civil war has aided the development of the Islamic State.

Disputing the suggestion that he has underestimated the group known as ISIL — Obama said: "This is precisely why we're in Iraq as we speak and why we're operating in Syria as we speak. And it's precisely why we have mobilized 65 countries to go after ISIL."

The president also said the attacks in Paris should not stop U.S. plans to accept refugees from Syria, many of whom are trying to flee the horrors of the Islamic State. "Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values," Obama said. So far, Republican governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan and Texas have called for a ban on Syrian refugees to their states.

In a letter to Obama, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that "a Syrian 'refugee' appears to have been part of the Paris terror attack. American humanitarian compassion could be exploited to expose Americans to similar deadly danger."

While not citing Republican critics by name, Obama said anyone who wants to "pop off" about the Islamic State should "present a specific plan." He said many critics are proposing "things that we're already doing."

Obama also denounced some Republicans' "shameful" calls to give preference to Christian refugees from Syria, a proposal made by GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush among others. Obama said there should not be a "religious test" applied to people who fleeing persecution. He said Americans need to be careful not to make this a war against Islam, but rather a fight against people who kill in the name of religion.

Obama said he disagreed with his predecessor, Republican President George W. Bush, on many issues, but applauded his statements after the 9/11 attacks that the United States is not engaged in a war with Islam.

It is important for "those who are in leadership" not to feed "a dark impulse inside of us," he said.

As Obama spoke in Turkey, French President Francois Hollande announced he would be meeting with the U.S. president in the coming days to "join our forces" against the Islamic State. He called for "a union of all who can fight this terrorist army in a single coalition."