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Obama 'very hesitant' to provide huge funding in the fight against ISIL

December 30, 2014 at 12:12 pm

US President Barack Obama has said that he is “very hesitant” to devote another trillion dollars to help in efforts to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as Washington did in the 13-year Afghan war.

Speaking to National Public Radio (NPR), Obama said that he would rather spend “a trillion dollars rebuilding our schools, our roads, our basic science and research here in the US; that is going to be a recipe for our long-term security and success.”

He pointed out that the United States can help in the reconstruction of war-torn countries such as Iraq, Syria and Libya but he stressed that the reconstruction must be carried out by the countries concerned on their own.

“What we’ve also learned is that if we do for others what they need to do for themselves — if we come in and send the Marines in to fight ISIL, and the Iraqis have no skin in the game, then it’s not going to last” he said.

The United States is leading an international coalition of Western and Arab countries to fight the extremist group in Iraq and Syria.

On the Iranian issue, Obama said that Tehran could become “a very successful regional power”, if it agreed to a long-term agreement under which it stops its nuclear program.

The president reiterated that he could reach a nuclear deal with Iran.