http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/world/middleeast/obama-speech-central-command-isis-military-resolve.html 2014-09-17 16:07:08 With Speech at Central Command, Obama Aims to Demonstrate Military Resolve The president was expected to deliver remarks that aides described as part of his effort to explain the need to confront extremists in the Middle East. === TAMPA, Fla. — A week after telling a war-weary nation that he has decided to expand airstrikes inside Iraq and Syria, President Obama planned to meet on Wednesday with his top military commanders for the region as he seeks to demonstrate his resolve and build public support for the fight against a new brand of terror. At MacDill Air Force Base here, the president was due to receive a briefing from commanders of the United States Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East. He was also expected to deliver remarks that aides described as part of his continuing effort to help Americans understand the need to confront the extremists halfway around the world. Aides said Mr. Obama was in an intensive period of focus on national security abroad, which began with the speech announcing broader military action last Wednesday. It will continue next week in New York when Mr. Obama attends the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. A senior administration official, speaking on background to discuss planning for the president’s remarks in Tampa, said that officials believed it was important to provide context for Mr. Obama’s actions in the Middle East. The official said the American people expected the president to talk about the military operations and that the White House would be very focused on the effort for several weeks. Mr. Obama’s comments at the military’s Central Command in Tampa, often referred to as Centcom, come just a day after Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the president’s top military adviser, generated headlines when he said on Tuesday that he might eventually recommend deploying ground troops in Syria if airstrikes are not sufficient to defeat the extremists. Aides later said that despite General Dempsey’s comments to a committee on Capitol Hill, Mr. Obama would not deploy combat forces on the ground in Iraq or Syria. They said Mr. Dempsey was merely describing contingency plans that the military is responsible for developing as operations in the region move forward. The president’s appearance at the military base is also aimed at lawmakers in Washington, who will soon vote on whether to authorize the president’s request for funding to provide arms to the Free Syrian Army, a group of rebels that the United States government wants to build up as a counter to the Sunni extremists in that country. Administration officials are strongly lobbying lawmakers to back the proposal, in part hoping that it will send a signal of American resolve. But the idea is meeting resistance from some Republicans, who say it is not aggressive enough, and from some Democrats, who say they are nervous about the danger of being dragged into an extended conflict by providing weapons to a group whose loyalties are uncertain. Senior administration officials praised Republican leaders on Capitol Hill for working in a collaborative way with the White House to address those concerns. One official said he was pleasantly surprised by the bipartisan effort to reach an agreement on how to confront the extremists in Syria and Iraq, given the conflict and gridlock between the House and the president in recent years. Mr. Obama also faces new evidence that the public is skeptical of the president’s handling of the terror threat and is wary of being dragged into another lengthy, costly military conflict in the Middle East. In a Mr. Obama’s advisers dismiss such poll results, saying there is little reason to expect people to be positive about a president’s foreign policy when they are bombarded daily with gruesome news like the beheadings of Americans held in Syria by Islamic extremists. White House officials point to polls that suggest a majority of Americans support the president’s approach in the Middle East, including his decision to rule out sending ground troops into combat.