On the 7th of November, according to Reuters, President Barrack Obama had officially requested the majority-Republican U.S. Congress to finance an additional budget of up to 5.6 billion dollars in order to support the US-led coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The president announced during a luncheon meeting with representatives from both the Republican and Democratic parties at the White House, that 3.4 billion dollars out of the finances will be used directly in the fight against the Islamic State and the rest of the funds will be used to support the Iraqi government forces and the autonomous Kurdistan forces. He added that a small portion of the funds will also be used by the Department of State to correspond against other extremist militant groups.
This is the first time the Republican and Democratic representatives gathered at the White House after the elections of November 4th. The president also added that the administration is in need of more financial support to battle the Ebola Virus in West Africa.
General Lloyd James. Austin was also present at the luncheon meeting, where he was reported to have given a presentation on the current situation in Iraq and Syria regarding the battles taking places and strategies they are planning to incorporate in future operations. General Austin is the man who is in charge of all the operations that are being carried out in the Middle East.
Reuters and Yonhap News reported that President Obama is hoping to dispatch additional military personnel to Iraq. It is estimated that the U.S. may dispatch as many as 1,500 additional forces to the Middle East, including non-combat personnel. Right now there are around 1,400 U.S. military personnel active in Iraq.
Until now, according to Yonhap News, the United States and its allies have organized over 8,000 airstrikes against the Islamic State since August. It is estimated that the U.S. coalition is spending 5.8 million dollars on average every day during the war against ISIS. With more and more young Muslims and converts from all over the world including the United States and Europe travelling to the Middle East to join ISIS and fight for their cause, the global community is finding it difficult to weaken the most dangerous militant group the world has ever seen.
Meanwhile, during the meeting at the White House with the representatives from the Republican and Democratic parties, President Obama also expressed the hope that American leaders of both parties would grow to cooperate more closely and intimately through this opportunity.
