US President Barack Obama told reporters on Thursday before conveneing a meeting with his national security team that “we don’t have a strategy yet” for dealing with the Islamic State (IS, formally ISIS) terror militia in Syria. “I think that’s not just my assessment, but the assessment of our military, as well,” he elaborated. “We need to make sure that we’ve got clear plans, that we’re developing them.” The statement dashed hopes some had for a quick expansion of the American air campaign against IS in neighboring Iraq, where unlike in Syria the regime in Baghdad has invited American forces to participate in the battle. Meanwhile, fighting between Islamist groups and the regime in southern Syria led to the closing of border crossings between Syria and Israel as 43 UN peacekeepers were reportedly taken hostage by the Islamists. Read More
