President Obama delivers a rare, primetime address Wednesday.
Taking over the TV networks during the crucial 9:00 p.m. ET programming slot is not something any White House does lightly.
This time, it's for Obama to spell out his plan to combat militants from the Islamic State, and spokesman Josh Earnest calls the timing a signal of the high national security priority at stake.
On this eve of the Sept. 11 anniversary, the administration does not believe the Islamic State is plotting an immediate attack on the U.S. But as Obama told NBC over the weekend, that could change if the group is allowed a safe haven in Syria and Iraq.
"More than anything I just want the American people to understand the nature of the threat and how we're going to deal with it," Obama said, "and to have confidence that we'll be able to deal with it."
Public Opinion Has Evolved
Americans don't need much convincing that the Islamic State poses a threat. The militant group has already accomplished that, with its grisly Internet videos showing the murder of two American journalists. Obama's bigger challenge is persuading a skeptical public he can deal with that threat.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says that Obama needs to detail how this fight will play out.
"The threat from ISIL is real and it's growing. It's time for President Obama to exercise some leadership in launching a response," he says.
McConnell and other congressional leaders met with the president at the White House on Tuesday. Obama told the lawmakers he welcomes congressional support, but already has the authority to conduct the campaign he'll outline Wednesday night.
A year ago, the president sought lawmakers' approval for airstrikes inside Syria, in response to Bashar Assad's use of chemical weapons. But Obama was forced to back down in the face of public and congressional opposition.
Pollster Carroll Doherty of the Pew Research Center says Obama is on stronger ground now, with Americans very aware of the murders.
"They want to see something done about it," he says. "They favor military action. And that's a change from a year ago when the idea of military action against Syria when the president proposed it was so unpopular."
Doherty says the biggest shift has come among Tea Party Republicans, who now favor a more muscular U.S. approach to foreign policy than they did a year ago.
Focusing The Plan
Increasingly hawkish public attitudes give the president an opening, but Doherty cautions the window here is a small one.
"So the president has to hit the right balance with taking action. But the public is still, after two wars, reluctant to see a third war in the Middle East," he says.
Obama, who campaigned on ending the war in Iraq, is all too conscious of that. So Wednesday night, as he told NBC, he'll keep in mind the limits of U.S. military involvement.
"This is not going to be an announcement about U.S. ground troops. This is not the equivalent of the Iraq War. What this is is similar to the kinds of counter-terrorism campaigns that we've been engaging in consistently over the last five, six, seven years," he said.
That approach relies heavily on cooperation from local forces, which the administration believes will come more easily now that Iraq has installed a new, and possibly more inclusive, government.
Secretary of State John Kerry meets this week with leaders in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, appealing to these neighbors to help press the fight against the Islamic State.
But Brian Katulis, who studies national security at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, says pulling off a working regional alliance won't be easy.
"Getting the motley coalition of Turkey and Qatar, on the one hand, to work closely with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, I think is worthy to try to do. But these countries deeply distrust one another. And I think that's going to be the real trick," he says.
Katulis adds the test of that strategy is not so much what the president says Wednesday night, but what he and that coalition actually do in the months to come.
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Transcript
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The last time President Obama spoke at length about the threat from the so-called Islamic State, his performance was criticized. The president explained his strategy for dealing with the group in Iraq, but he added that we don't have a strategy yet for dealing with the group in Syria.
Now the president tries again. He will speak tonight to a country that was alarmed by the beheading of two American journalists. He's also addressing an audience that is skeptical of his leadership and reluctant to go to war. Here's NPR White House correspondent Scott Horsley.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Taking over the TV networks in the middle of prime time is not something any White House does lightly. Spokesman Josh Earnest calls the timing of tonight's speech a signal of the high national security priority at stake. On this eve of the 9/11 anniversary, the administration does not believe militants from the Islamic State are plotting an immediate attack on the U.S., but as Obama told NBC over the weekend, that could change if the group's allowed a safe haven in Syria and Iraq.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: More than anything, I just want the American people to understand the nature of the threat and how we're going to deal with it and to have confidence that we'll be able to deal with it.
HORSLEY: Americans don't need much convincing that the Islamic State poses a threat. The militant group has already accomplished that with its grisly Internet videos showing the murder of two American journalists. Obama's bigger challenge is persuading a skeptical public that he can deal with that threat. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday Obama needs to detail how this fight will play out.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL: A threat from ISIL is real. and it's growing. It's time for President Obama to exercise some leadership in launching a response.
HORSLEY: McConnell and other congressional leaders met with the president at the White House yesterday. Obama told the lawmakers he welcomes congressional support, but does not need any immediate authorization for the campaign he'll outline tonight. A year ago, the president sought lawmakers' approval for airstrikes inside Syria in response to Bashar al-Assad's use of chemical weapons, but he was forced to back down in the face of public and congressional opposition. Pollster Carroll Dougherty of the Pew Research Center says Obama is on stronger ground tonight in going after the Islamic State militants.
CARROLL DOUGHERTY: This threat is very much on the public's radar. They want to see something done about it. They favor military action, and that's a change from a year ago when the idea of military action against Syria - when the president proposed it was so unpopular.
HORSLEY: Dougherty says the biggest shift has come among Tea Party Republicans who now favor a more muscular U.S. approach to foreign policy than they did a year ago. Increasingly hawkish public attitudes give the president an opening to pursue a more aggressive approach to Islamic State militants, but Dougherty cautions the window here is a small one.
DOUGHERTY: So the president has to hit the right balance with taking action, but the public is still, after two wars, reluctant to see a third war in the Middle East.
HORSLEY: Obama, who campaigned on ending the war in Iraq, is all too conscious of that. So tonight, as he told NBC, he'll not only talk about how he plans to go on offense against the Islamic State, but also about the limits of U.S. military involvement.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
OBAMA: This is not going to be an announcement about U.S. ground troops; this is not the equivalent of the Iraq war. What this is, is similar to the kinds of counterterrorism campaigns that we've been engaging in consistently over the last five, six, seven years.
HORSLEY: That approach relies heavily on cooperation from local forces on the ground, which the administration believes will come more easily now that Iraq has installed a new, possibly more inclusive government. Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting this week with leaders in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The White House strategy also depends on those Sunni neighbors to help press the fight against the Islamic State.
BRIAN KATULIS: This regional coalition that the administration speaks of is a good idea. It's easier said than done.
HORSLEY: Brian Katulis studies national security at the left-leaning Center for American Progress. He says while the president's approach to the Islamic State now comes with more airborne firepower, Obama has not given up on the kind of international burden-sharing he called for in his West Point speech three months ago.
KATULIS: It's very much in the DNA of the administration to try to get other countries to pull their weight. Getting the motley coalition of Turkey and Qatar, on the one hand, to work closely with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, I think, is worthy to try to do. But these countries deeply distrust one another, and I think that's going to be the real trick.
HORSLEY: Katulis says the test of that strategy is not so much what the president says tonight, but what he and that coalition actually do in the months to come. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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