REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will deliver a speech to Americans and consult with lawmakers this week to sell his plan to go on the offensive against Islamic State militants, but is trying to head off public concern about another big military escapade.

Obama said that in his remarks on Wednesday he would "describe what our game plan's going to be." He will meet congressional leaders on Tuesday to seek their support for his strategy to halt the militant Islamist group.

Obama indicated he did not believe he needed additional authorization from Congress to carry out the plan, although he intends to consult with lawmakers and might seek approval for additional funds.

"I'm confident that I have the authorization that I need to protect the American people," Obama said. "But I do think it's important for Congress to understand what the plan is, to have 'buy in,' to debate it."

The president, who campaigned for the White House in 2008 on getting US troops out of Iraq, has struggled to articulate how he wants to address Islamic State, telling reporters last month that "we don't have a strategy yet" to tackle the group.

The speech underscores the degree to which Islamic State has become an urgent issue for the United States. The Sunni militants have seized territory in northern Iraq and eastern Syria, declared a border-blurring Islamic caliphate and released grisly videos of the beheading of two US journalists it had held hostage.

Obama authorized American airstrikes in Iraq against Islamic State last month and US warplanes carried out strikes on Islamic State insurgents menacing Iraq's Haditha Dam on Sunday.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika