--- title: Obama Warns of Extended Campaign Against ISIS in Iraq description: The President makes his first public comments on the U.S. military campaign in Iraq since returning from vacation canonical: https://time.com/3182103/obama-isis-iraq-foley/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-26T17:00:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:51:48.188Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Warns of Extended Campaign Against ISIS in Iraq og:description: The President makes his first public comments on the U.S. military campaign in Iraq since returning from vacation og:url: https://time.com/3182103/obama-isis-iraq-foley/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1d0fd46fb2d636e/6986a0f606f2c1f7df33072f/ap493574238115.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Warns of Extended Campaign Against ISIS in Iraq twitter:description: The President makes his first public comments on the U.S. military campaign in Iraq since returning from vacation twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1d0fd46fb2d636e/6986a0f606f2c1f7df33072f/ap493574238115.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Warns of Extended Campaign Against ISIS > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Aug 26, 2014 5:00 PM UTC  President Barack Obama speaks about veterans issues at the American Legion’s 96th National Convention at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014. President Barack Obama speaks about veterans issues at the American Legion’s 96th National Convention at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014.Charles Dharapak—AP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Aug 26, 2014 5:00 PM UTC President Barack Obama pledged Tuesday that the United States would not rest until it brought to justice the killer of American journalist James Foley at the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). “Rooting out a cancer like \[ISIS\] won’t be easy and it won’t be quick,” Obama told an audience of veterans and their families at the American Legion National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. a week after the extremist group released a video showing the graphic execution of Foley by an ISIS fighter. These were Obama’s first public comments on the conflict since returning from vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. “Our message to anyone who harms our people is simple. America does not forget, our reach is long, we are patient, justice will be done,” Obama said, referencing Foley’s killing. “We have proved time and time again we will do what’s necessary to capture those who harm Americans to go after those who harm Americans. And we’ll continue to take direct action where needed to protect our people and to defend our homeland.” As he weighs expanding the fight against ISIS into Syria, Obama warned that “history teaches us of the dangers of overreaching and spreading ourselves too thin and trying to go it alone without international support, or rushing into military adventures without thinking through the consequences.” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that Obama has yet to decide whether to authorize the expansion of the weeks-long American air campaign in Iraq against the group. Obama said that the strikes against ISIS have been limited to protecting U.S. forces and diplomats in Iraq, reaffirming that U.S. troops would not be sent back on the ground beyond an advisory capacity. “Let me say it again: American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq,” he said. “We’ll not allow the United States to be dragged back into another ground war in Iraq because, ultimately, it is up to the Iraqis to bridge their differences and secure themselves.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3182103/obama-isis-iraq-foley/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3182103/obama-isis-iraq-foley/"},"headline":"Obama Warns of Extended Campaign Against ISIS","datePublished":"2014-08-26T17:00:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:51:48.188Z","description":"The President makes his first public comments on the U.S. military campaign in Iraq since returning from vacation","url":"https://time.com/3182103/obama-isis-iraq-foley/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","Barack Obama","White House","Syria","Iraq","ISIS","foreign affairs","ISIL"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1d0fd46fb2d636e/6986a0f606f2c1f7df33072f/ap493574238115.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1d0fd46fb2d636e/6986a0f606f2c1f7df33072f/ap493574238115.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama","caption":"Barack Obama","creditText":"Charles Dharapak—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-policy/","name":"Foreign Policy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3182103/obama-isis-iraq-foley/","name":"Obama Warns of Extended Campaign Against ISIS"}}]}] ```