Obama, Hollande Vow Intense Fight Against IS

WHITE HOUSE—The U.S. and French leaders vowed new cooperation to defeat Islamic State militants in the wake of the deadly jihadist attacks on Paris.»We must do even more together,» President Barack Obama told French President Francois Hollande after the two leaders met Tuesday at the White House.

The American leader called the Islamic State group «a scourge that threatens all of us.» But Obama said, «We will not succumb to fear. Make no mistake, we will win and groups like ISIL will lose.»

Hollande, who has launched airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria since the November 13 Paris attacks, said, «We will not give in» and called for «an implacable joint response» with the U.S.

Going on the offensive

Hollande called for more intense attacks on Islamic State positions, «hunting down» the terrorist group’s leaders and taking back lands the insurgents have captured in Iraq and Syria.

Obama pledged that «Americans will not be terrorized.» He called on his countrymen, though, to uphold the U.S. ideals of freedom of religion and equality before the law in the midst of a contentious debate in the country over whether to allow Syrian refugees to enter the U.S.

The president has been criticized by Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates looking to succeed him when he leaves office in January 2017 for his plan to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S. over the next year.

He noted France is set to permit 30,000 Syrians to enter its borders, and he reiterated that his refugee plans calls for intensive screening before anyone can move to the United States.

Hollande met with Obama after hosting British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday in Paris, and he will hold separate talks later this week with the leaders of Russia, China, Germany and Italy as he tries to build a coalition to fight the Islamic State group.

Obama said he and Hollande agreed Russia can play an increased role in fighting Islamic State militants in Syria if Moscow moves more toward attacking them rather than launching strikes against rebel groups fighting forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In recent days, Russia has launched strikes against the Islamic State’s self-described capital of Raqqa in northern Syria, after concluding Islamic State took down a Russian passenger jet over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people aboard.