Obama briefs Congress on Iraq

Briefing top lawmakers on Tuesday, President Obama suggested that he would not seek congressional approval for a broadened military campaign against the "Islamic State" (IS), a Sunni extremist group that has brought Iraq to the verge of total collapse.

"The president told the [congressional] leaders that he has the authority he needs to take action against ISIL in accordance with the mission he will lay out in his address tomorrow night," the White House said in a press release, using an alternative name for the "IS".

During the meeting, the congressional leaders expressed their support for efforts to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the "IS", according to the White House. But lawmakers have been divided over whether or not the president has to receive authorization from Congress before broadening its military campaign against the Sunni extremist group.

"The president should be seeking congressional approval, period, for whatever he decides to do because that's the way you hear from those of us who represent the rest of the country," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a powerful Republican legislator who attended the Tuesday briefing.

Last fall, Obama sought congressional authorization to launch airstrikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who had been accused of using chemical weapons. But Obama backed off after Assad agreed to give up his chemical weapons under a plan brokered by Russia.

Television address

President Obama is scheduled to lay out the details of his strategy in a televised address on Wednesday. The US has launched 148 airstrikes against "IS" militants in northern Iraq since August. Baghdad had requested the airstrikes.

"The president will lay out what he clearly sees as American interests in this situation," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in his daily briefing Tuesday.

"He'll talk about the risks that the United States faces, and he'll talk about the strategy that he has put together to confront those risks, to mitigate them, and ultimately to degrade and destroy ISIL," Earnest said, using an alternative acronym for "IS".

Although the "IS" has aroused international alarm over its territorial gains in Iraq, the extremist group's main bases are in Syria.

Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs General, has said that "IS" can only be defeated if it's denied a safe haven in Syria. So far, the White House has been mum as to whether or not it will expand its air campaign into Syria.

UN resolution?

It's also unclear whether or not the White House will seek backing from the UN Security Council for its campaign to rout the "Islamic State."

French President Francois Hollande has said that his government would support a military campaign against "IS" as long as it's "in accordance with international law."

The UN General Assembly meets for its annual session on September 24. President Obama is scheduled to chair a meeting of the Security Council, which will focus on the "Islamic State." The US currently holds the 15-member council's rotating presidency.

Washington is calling on the UN to adopt a resolution requiring member states to prevent their citizens from joining Islamist groups fighting in Iraq and Syria.

slk/av (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)