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   From: change@outlook.com   
      
   The Obama administration is reportedly preparing a campaign to   
   destroy the Islamic State militant group that could outlast the   
   president's remaining time in office, according to a published   
   report.   
      
   The New York Times, citing U.S. officials, reported late Sunday   
   that the White House plan involves three phases that some   
   Pentagon officials believe will require at least three years of   
   sustained effort.   
      
   The first phase, airstrikes against Islamic State, also known as   
   ISIS, is already underway in Iraq, where U.S. aircraft have   
   launched 143 attacks since August 8. The second phase involves   
   an intensified effort to train, advise, and equip the Iraqi   
   army, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and any Sunni tribesmen   
   willing to fight their ISIS co-religionists. The Times reports   
   that this second phase will begin sometime after Iraq forms a   
   new government, which could happen sometime this week.   
      
   The third, and most politically fraught phase of the campaign,   
   according to The Times, would require airstrikes against ISIS   
   inside Syria. Last month, the government of Bashar al-Assad in   
   Damascus warned the Obama administration not to launch   
   airstrikes against ISIS in Syria without its permission.   
      
   Obama was scheduled to outline his plan in a meeting Tuesday   
   with House and Senate leaders before addressing the nation in a   
   speech Wednesday, the eve of the 13th anniversary of the   
   September 11, 2001 terror attacks. A senior Obama administration   
   official told Fox News imminent, new military action in either   
   Iraq or Syria was not expected to be announced in Wednesday's   
   speech. A senior White House official told Fox News that Obama's   
   primary aim will be to update the American public on what the   
   strategy is to deal with the militant group, saying the   
   administration wants "people to understand how he's approaching   
   this."   
      
   In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press,"   
   Obama vowed that the United States would go "on the offensive"   
   against the militants, who have seized broad swathes of   
   territory in Syria and Iraq over the summer.   
      
   The interview was conducted over the weekend after the president   
   returned from a two-day NATO summit in Wales, where the U.S. and   
   nine of its European allies agreed to take on the militants due   
   to the terror threat they pose. Secretary of State John Kerry is   
   due to travel to the Middle East later this month in an effort   
   to secure the backing of Arab states for an anti-ISIS campaign,   
   while Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel was due to arrive in   
   Turkey on Monday to press that country's leadership for support.   
   Among the issues discussed will be the possibility of closing   
   the country's border with Syria, which has been a popular route   
   for Western-born fighters looking to join ISIS.   
      
   On Sunday, the head of the 22-member Arab League urged the   
   group's members to make a "clear and firm decision for a   
   comprehensive confrontation" with "cancerous and terrorist"   
   groups. Nabil Elaraby called ISIS a threat to the existence of   
   Iraq and its neighbors and "one of the examples of the   
   challenges that are violently shaking the Arab world, and one   
   the Arab League, regrettably, has not been able to confront."   
      
   It wasn't immediately clear what steps the Arab League would   
   take in supporting the West's campaign against ISIS, and   
   reaching a consensus on how to move could be complicated by Arab   
   world rivalries and member countries' different spheres of   
   influence. A draft resolution obtained by The Associated Press   
   offered only routine condemnation of terrorist groups operating   
   in the region. It also called on its member states, which   
   include Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the   
   United Arab Emirates to improve information-sharing and legal   
   expertise in combating terrorism, and to prevent the paying of   
   ransom to militants.   
      
   The Times reported that White House officials acknowledge that   
   even if European and Arab countries offer their support for   
   operations in Iraq, getting them to assent to possible   
   operations in Syria would be much more difficult. U.S. officials   
   have said repeatedly that the Obama administration is weighing   
   all options for pursuing ISIS in that country.   
      
   Click for more from The New York Times.   
      
       
      
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