Rice outlines coalition's strategy against ISIL to Air Force cadets

National Security Adviser Susan Rice recently spoke at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, detailing the "whole-of-government" strategy that the U.S. is taking against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“For the past year and a half, the president has been leading a comprehensive strategy to destroy ISIL and its ideology of hate,” Rice said. “And I do mean comprehensive. When we’re sitting around the Situation Room table, we’re using all aspects of our power -- military, diplomacy, intelligence, counterterrorism, economic, development, homeland security, law enforcement. Ours is truly a 'whole-of-government' campaign.”

Rice stressed the differences between the current campaign against ISIL and previous U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, noting the broad coalition pushing back against ISIL and the emphasis on training local forces in Syria and Iraq. Rice laid out the four facets of the counter-ISIL strategy: attacking the group’s core, targeting its branches, disrupting its global network and protecting the U.S. homeland from ISIL attacks.

“It is a complex effort,” Rice said. “It will not be accomplished fully in just a few weeks or months, or even a few years. But day by day, mile by mile, strike by strike, we are making substantial progress, and … we’re going to keep up the momentum.”