President Barack Obama delivers a statement and answers a few questions from the press following his meeting with Defense Department and military leadership regarding the campaign against ISIL, at the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., July 6, 2015. July 6, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) 
 
 Today, President Obama provided an update on the U.S. mission to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group, ISIL. Watch his remarks at the Pentagon here: 
 
 ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) was formerly al Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq, and has since gained territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border by taking advantage of sectarian strife and the Syrian civil war. Although ISIL calls itself the “Islamic State,” the President has emphasized that the terrorist group is neither Islamic nor a state. 
 
 "ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple," he has said. Here's what the President had to say today on why we will ultimately prevail against ISIL: 
 
 "Ideologies are not defeated with guns. They’re defeated by better ideas—a more attractive, more compelling vision." —President Obama on countering violent extremism from terrorist groups like ISIL: http://go.wh.gov/7D5KLX Posted by The White House on Monday, July 6, 2015 
 
 Our main objective is to degrade and destroy this group through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy that looks like this: 
 
 The Four Pillars of the U.S Strategy Against ISIL 
 
 1. A systematic campaign of airstrikes against ISIL 
 
 Working with the Iraqi government, the U.S. is expanding our efforts beyond protecting Americans and humanitarian missions, so that we're hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on the offense. We are pursuing terrorists wherever they are, which means the President will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria as well as Iraq. As he has said, "If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven." As of today, we've launched more than 5,000 airstrikes against ISIL. 
 
 2. Increased support to forces fighting ISIL on the ground 
 
 The U.S. has sent a small contingent of service members to support Iraqi forces, including Kurdish fighters, with training, intelligence, and equipment. These American forces do not have a combat mission, but are providing the support needed for Iraqi forces to go on the offense. In Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition, while pursuing the political solution necessary to solve Syria's crisis once and for all. 
 
 3. Drawing on our substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks 
 
 Working with our partners, we are redoubling our efforts to cut off ISIL's funding, improve our intelligence, strengthen our defenses, counter ISIL's warped ideology, and stem the flow of foreign fighters into and out of the Middle East. 
 
 4. Providing humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians displaced by ISIL 
 
 We cannot allow innocent communities to be driven from their homelands. The U.S. continues to provide much-needed assistance to Sunni and Shia Muslims who are at grave risk, as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities. 

 Nearly one month ago, President Barack Obama admitted the United States did not “yet have a complete strategy” to defeat the Islamic State. 
 
 Today, after meeting with his top military brass and senior administration officials in a rare visit to the Pentagon, the president outlined a strategy, step-by-step, that he believes will be a winning approach over time. 
 
 The president did not call for more bombs or more troops, but instead announced a shifting focus to counter ISIL’s public relations machine while training local forces to sustain progress made on the ground there. 
 
 “There's a cause, a coalition that's united countries across the globe, some 60 nations including Arab partners,” Obama said, flanked by his top military advisers at the Pentagon briefing room. “Our comprehensive strategy against ISIL is harnessing all elements of American power across our government — military, intelligence, diplomatic, economic development, and perhaps most importantly the power of our values.” 
 
 While the vast majority of the coalition's airstrikes have focused on targets in Iraq, Obama also signaled a growing emphasis on targets in Syria. 
 
 "Indeed, we're intensifying our efforts against ISIL's base in Syria," he said. "Our airstrikes will continue to target the oil and gas facilities that fund so much of their operations.” 
 
 Although the president exuded confidence in the revised blueprint, he warned that victory will not come quickly and will require the collaboration of opposition forces that have sometimes been hesitant to join fight against ISIS, also known as ISIL. 
 
 “This will not be quick. This is a long-term campaign. ISIL is opportunistic, and it is nimble,” he said. “It will take time to root them out and doing so must be the job of local forces on the ground, with training and air support from our coalition.” 
 
 Obama asserted that ISIS is “surrounded by countries and communities committed to its destruction” but overcoming the Islamic State’s grip on power will require more than a military effort. 
 
 “In short, ISIL's recent losses in both Syria and Iraq prove that ISIL can and will be defeated,” Obama said. 
 
 “Our strategy recognizes that no amount of military force will end the terror that is ISIL unless it's matched by a broader effort, political and economic, that addresses the underlying conditions that have allowed ISIL to gain traction,” he added. “They have filled a void and we have to make sure that, as we push them out, that void is filled.” 
 
 Last month, the president conceded that the administration’s strategy fell short of one required to defeat ISIS, but he promised his military advisers were working on additional options for him to review. 
 
 "We don't yet have a complete strategy," Obama said June 8 at the G7 summit of world leaders in Germany. "The details of that are not yet worked out." 
 
 As he concluded his remarks at the Pentagon today, Obama said there are “no current plans” to send additional combat forces into the region, although that issue is not one that the president discussed with his military and national security advisers. Nevertheless, he left the option on the table, telling reporters he would "do whatever it takes" to defend the United States of America.
– President Obama made a rare visit to the Pentagon yesterday and delivered an update on the mission against ISIS and an outline of US strategy in what Obama stresses will be a long-term fight. The four key points, per the Pentagon conference and the White House, which uses the ISIL acronym for the group: More airstrikes. The US is stepping up strikes in Syria as well as Iraq, and Obama says the strikes will "continue to target the oil and gas facilities that fund so much of their operations." More support for those fighting ISIS on the ground. The White House says the US has "ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition" fighting the group, as well as continued to provide the training and support Iraqi government forces and Kurdish fighters need. Making full use of US power and counterterrorism expertise. To fight ISIS in ways that include cutting off its funding, the "comprehensive strategy" includes "harnessing all elements of American power across our government—military, intelligence, diplomatic, economic development, and perhaps most importantly, the power of our values," Obama said yesterday. Helping civilians displaced by ISIS. The White House says its strategy includes helping Muslims of all sects forced out of their homes by ISIS, "as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities." Obama didn't announce the deployment of any more troops, and he said the strategy recognizes that "no amount of military force will end the terror that is ISIL unless it's matched by a broader effort, political and economic, that addresses the underlying conditions that have allowed ISIL to gain traction," ABC reports. "They have filled a void and we have to make sure that, as we push them out, that void is filled." But so far, filling the "void" has exposed weaknesses in US strategy, the Washington Post reports. ISIS has suffered major setbacks in Syria in recent weeks, but the anti-ISIS offensive has been led by Kurdish forces backed by US airstrikes, and as it moves into Arab-dominated areas, even Syrians firmly opposed to ISIS fear that the Kurds are trying to change the demography of the region, the Post reports.