Obama’s ‘whack-a-mole’ warning on ISIS

President Obama, in a rare visit to the Pentagon where he got an update on the military campaign against the Islamic State, acknowledged Monday that ISIS and its ideology have spread far beyond Iraq and Syria as he urged the world to unite against this threat – saying that if the U.S. tries to address it unilaterally, “We’ll be playing whack-a-mole.”

 

The president, giving a report card of sorts on the nearly yearlong military campaign against the terror network, offered a mixed picture. He cited a string of ISIS losses in Iraq and Syria in claiming they “can be pushed back” in the region.

 

“In short, ISIL’s recent losses in both Syria and Iraq prove that ISIL can and will be defeated,” Obama said, vowing: “We will ultimately prevail.”

 

At the same time, he braced the public for a “long-term campaign” that will involve a “generational struggle” — a global battle with extremists for hearts and minds.

 

In unusually blunt remarks, the president acknowledged that ISIS and its ideology “pose a grave threat beyond the region” that has spread around the world.

 

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