Obama to address expanded Libya role

President Barack Obama is assessing what’s working and what’s not in the fight against Daesh as the US military ramps up its engagement in Libya.

After meeting Thursday with military and national security advisers at the Pentagon, Obama plans to take questions during a news conference.

The session comes as the US is bombing targets in and around the Libyan city of Sirte, a notable expansion of the US-led coalition’s military mission against Daesh. At the urging of the Pentagon, Obama authorised the strikes that started this week and include precision strikes against Daesh tanks, rocket launchers and fighting positions.

Obama typically convenes meetings of the National Security Council at the White House, but over the past year he has occasionally held them at other agencies like the State Department and the CIA. The goal of the road show at the Pentagon is to illustrate the multifaceted US approach to defeating Daesh.

Mired in chaos following the ouster of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya became a target for Daesh extremists hoping to build a safe haven outside its initial territory in Iraq and Syria. Though the number of Daesh fighters in Libya has dwindled, the US is hoping to help Libya’s fledgling, UN-backed unity government finish the job.

Obama also plans to use the meeting at the Pentagon to tout recent gains by the US and its partners against Daesh in Syria and Iraq. With significant US help, Iraq’s government is preparing a major offensive to reclaim the key northern city of Mosul, controlled by Daesh since June 2014

source : gulfnews