--- title: Barack Obama: ISIS Is 'Going to Lose' description: President Obama said the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria is "going to lose." canonical: https://time.com/3705887/obama-aumf-military-authorization-isis/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-11T21:19:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:02:47.637Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama: ISIS is 'Going to Lose' og:description: He asked for a war powers resolution that would last three years. og:url: https://time.com/3705887/obama-aumf-military-authorization-isis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1958d39223003acf/69877eedcd6848d59b099ac6/obama4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: DC: US President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the use of militaryforces against ISIL og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama: ISIS is 'Going to Lose' twitter:description: He asked for a war powers resolution that would last three years. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1958d39223003acf/69877eedcd6848d59b099ac6/obama4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama: ISIS Is 'Going to Lose' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### 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. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=97421fd2-e96f-4629-911e-3c2d8d482eab&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Inside ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s Battle for Brand Supremacy [Watch (HLS stream): Inside ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s Battle for Brand Supremacy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gK3s3WLk.m3u8) (5:16)  _Published 2015-02-04. They may share similar goals but the two groups are bitter rivals_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 11, 2015 9:19 PM UTC They may share similar goals but the two groups are bitter rivals by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 11, 2015 9:19 PM UTC —President Obama said the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) is “going to lose,” during statements Wednesday about the [war powers request](http://time.com/3704903/obama-aumf-isis-syria/) he sent to Congress. “Make no mistake, this is a difficult mission and it will remain difficult for some time,” Obama said during his remarks from the White House’s Roosevelt Room. “But our coalition is on the offensive. \[ISIS\] is on the defensive and \[ISIS\] is going to lose.” The President on Wednesday sent a request to Congress to authorize the use of military force against ISIS, which many members have wanted since the U.S. and coalition forces’ offensive against the group began last year. The President has said that though he is already within his legal authority to use force against the group, he wants to work with Congress to show the world the U.S. is a united front. On Wednesday, the President reiterated that the authorization he sent to Congress does not call for the deployment of ground combat forces in Iraq and Syria, stating he remains convinced that the U.S. “should not get dragged back into another ground war in the Middle East.” “As Commander in Chief, I will only send our troops into harm’s way when it’s absolutely necessary for our national security,” Obama said. The resolution would also expire within three years, so that the burden on how to move forward with the offensive would shift to the next President and Congress. Wednesday, however, is merely the first step in what’s sure to be a drawn-out debate over action in the region. Many lawmakers have already [expressed concern](http://time.com/3705456/obama-aumf-military-enduring/) over the ambiguity of the resolution. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the resolution is “intentionally” open-ended so that the President can have flexibility in his approach. So far, the U.S. and coalition forces have launched over 2,300 air strikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] This is Amadi Coulibaly, one of the gunmen [00:04] in the terrorist attacks in Paris. In this video, which [00:07] surfaced four days after the attacks, he's pledging [00:10] allegiance to the leader of ISIS. [ FOREIGN ] But days [00:15] before this video was recorded, another assailant, [00:17] Cherif Kouachi, claimed allegiance to a different [00:20] jihadist. Al Qaeda and Yemen. [ FOREIGN ] [00:28] We don't know how closely the gunman actually [00:30] coordinated with the two terrorist organizations. But [00:33] this episode shows how the face of radicalism has [00:35] changed since 9 / 11. Al Qaeda is no longer the key [00:39] player when it comes to Islamic terrorism against the [00:41] West. Instead, multiple jihad groups cooperate and [00:45] at times compete with one another. al- Qaeda is [00:53] one of the longest operating Jihadist militant [00:55] organizations, having plotted against the west since the [00:58] early 1990s. but in the past decade, its core [01:02] leadership has been decimated by drone and special [01:04] ops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen. It lost its [01:08] spiritual leader, Osama Bin Laden, almost five years [01:11] ago. Into the vacuum has stepped a tangled web of [01:15] jihadi groups. With similar ambitions, but fiercer [01:22] tactics. [ FOREIGN ] Al Qaeda is now led by Egyptian [01:25] born Ayman Al- Zawahiri, Bin Laden's former personal [01:28] physician and ideological heir. But the recent creation [01:32] and descent of ISIS created chaos in Al Qaeda's inner [01:36] order. ISIS [01:41] leader, Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi ,. Rose in the ranks of [01:45] another al- Qaeda offshoot, al- Qaeda in Iraq. [01:50] [ FOREIGN ] The native Iraqi has a Ph. D. in Islamic [01:53] studies and is a young proven leader. But he only [01:56] became a militant after the Iraq invasion a generation [01:59] apart from the older order of al- Qaeda leaders. Al [02:03] Qaeda and its Iraqi branch coexisted until 2013 when [02:07] one voice recording changed everything. [ UNKNOWN ] [02:13] [ MUSIC ] In 2013 [ UNKNOWN ] once leader of Al [02:15] Qaeda in Iraq, published a recording online and that's [02:18] in the official creation of ISIS. ISIS. His intention was [02:22] to extend his power from Iraq [02:26] into Syria. But Zawahiri, Bin Laden's successor and [02:29] leader of core Al Qaeda, had not authorized [02:31] Baghdadi's move into Syria. He wanted Baghdadi to [02:34] keep his power within Iraq's borders. But Baghdadi [02:37] refused and with that, Al Qaeda dissociated itself from [02:40] ISIS. ISIS. It was the first time that al Qaeda had [02:44] formally repudiated an affiliate. However, the [02:48] two groups are divided by more than just a leadership [02:51] squabble. While al Qaeda and ISIS are tied by similar [02:54] extremist ideology, inspired by a violent interpretation [02:57] of Islam. They disagree on tactics and objectives. While [03:01] both groups share Osama bin Laden's original goal of [03:04] reestablishing the Caliphate, they disagree on how to [03:07] bring it about. Other al- Qaeda [03:11] affiliates, like al- Qaeda. Al- Qaeda in the Arabian [03:13] Peninsula and al- Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have [03:16] not recognized ISIS as legitimate. These groups [03:19] leadership based in Yemen and in dessert regions of [03:22] southern Algeria are also part of the network that [03:24] trained under Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. To [03:28] make things even more complicated, another [03:31] organization has inserted itself into the fray, beyond [03:34] the Arab world, Boko Haram, an [03:38] Islamist group founded in Nigeria, in 2002. The group [03:42] has so far limited itself to Nigeria's territory, where it [03:46] has kidnapped scores of young people, in order to [03:48] further it's goal of eliminating Western education. [03:53] There's some evidence that Boko Haram has received [03:55] training and support from Al Qaeda's northwest Africa [03:59] affiliate. But recently, Boko Haram has increasingly [04:02] aligned itself with ISIS, drawn by it's successes. In [04:10] fact, a month after ISIS declared its caliphate. Boko [04:14] Haram also began taking land in northern Nigeria. [04:17] Now, it controls an area about the size of West Virgina. [04:21] And after ISIS' highly produced videos began [04:24] appearing online, Boko Haram started copying their [04:26] style. They adapted the flag used by ISIS. Began to [04:31] mirror ISIS' language and statements. And even used [04:33] the same Islamic verses as background audio. [04:35] [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] It's [04:42] premature to speak of a formal link between ISIS and [04:45] Boko Haram. But the big question is whether the [04:47] African group is simply imitating ISIS or if there is [04:50] actually formal communication. Between the two [04:53] groups. No matter the connections or otherwise [04:56] between these groups recent history suggests the [04:58] biggest risk to the west is from so called lone wolves. [05:02] Radical sympathisers like Amidi [ UNKNOWN ] who are [05:05] not necessarily aware or don't care about leadership [05:07] squabbles at the top. They just share their goal of [05:10] destabilizing the west. [ NOISE ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3705887/obama-aumf-military-authorization-isis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3705887/obama-aumf-military-authorization-isis/"},"headline":"Obama: ISIS Is 'Going to Lose'","datePublished":"2015-02-11T21:19:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T09:02:47.637Z","description":"\"Our coalition is on the offensive. 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