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In the aftermath of the tragic execution of freelance reporter Steven Sotloff, and following the similar execution of journalist James Foley, President Obama gave conflicting signals on his strategy regarding ISIS.

In a Joint Press Conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President Obama gave mixed and confusing signals on how he will approach the threat from ISIS.

“Our objective is clear, and that is to degrade and destroy ISIL so that it’s no longer a threat not just to Iraq but also the region and to the United States.  In order for us to accomplish that, the first phase has been to make sure that we’ve got an Iraqi government that’s in place and that we are blunting the momentum that ISIL was carrying out.  And the airstrikes have done that.”

The president mentioned the U.S. objective is clear is to degrade and destroy ISIS, then Obama stated, “We know that if we are joined by the international community, we can continue to shrink ISIL’s sphere of influence, its effectiveness, its financing, its military capabilities to the point where it is a manageable problem.”

These two conflicting statements had everyone confused, is the president’s strategy to destroy ISIS or is it to manage the threat from ISIS?

Which is it?

The president continues to mention, “What we’ve got to do is make sure that we are organizing the Arab world, the Middle East, the Muslim world along with the international community to isolate this cancer.”

The question is how does the president plan on doing this when he has strained relations with many of the Middle Eastern nations he will need to build this coalition?

This week Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary will be heading to the Middle East in an effort to build a broad based coalition in confronting ISIS, the question is how receptive will the Arab nations be toward the U.S.; especially Kerry.

The Arab League and Egypt are still upset how Kerry handled the Israeli-Hamas cease fire negotiations and how the president handled the Syrian crisis of last year, and other issues in the broader Middle East.

To build the broad base coalition modeled after the international coalition which President H.W. Bush constructed during the first Persian Gulf War will take a coherent strategy, with the United States in the lead.

Anything short of that will be very difficult to obtain.

On Tuesday, Obama has authorized 350 additional military forces to Iraq to protect U.S. facilities and personal in Baghdad.

CBS News reported the move comes at the recommendation of the Defense Department, but the additional personnel will not be serving in a combat role, the White House said in a statement. Most are from the Army and some are Marines, the Pentagon said in a statement.

“The president has made clear his commitment to doing whatever is required to provide the necessary security for U.S. personnel and facilities around the world. The request he approved today will allow some previously deployed military personnel to depart Iraq, while at the same time providing a more robust, sustainable security force for our personnel and facilities in Baghdad,” the White House said.

If the president is going to build his broad based international coalition he is going to have to articulate a coherent strategy when he meets with NATO member countries in Wales.

So far strong language has come from everyone but the President of the United States, without leadership from the U.S. it will be difficult to build a coalition in defeating ISIS.

This is something that can’t wait!