Here’s what US President Barack  Obama could have done better

#Washington :  Key takeaways from #BarackObama’s Oval Office speech Jack Rice, a criminal defense attorney and former CIA officer, says recent polls reveal that 60 percent of Americans think the war against Islamic State is going poorly.

President #BarackObama televised address about terrorism on Sunday was a step in the right direction but ultimately lacked several key points, strategists tell CNBC.

“It was an improvement on rhetoric but it did not change the overall strategy with regards to ISIL…Obama got a B or C+ for effort but I don’t think Americans will sleep significantly better at night,” said Brian Levin, professor of criminal justice at the California State University.In his third Oval Office speech, the president called the recent San Bernardino massacre “an act of terrorism” and outlined how his admiration will “destroy ISIL and any other organization that tries to harm us.”

The extremist organization knows as the Islamic State, or alternatively ISIL, IS and ISIS, has yet to formally claim responsibility for the California shooting but over the weekend, the group’s Iraq-based radio station did refer to the attackers as “supporters”.

“What the speech left out was getting our allies in the Middle East to be more judicious with regard to funding and dissemination of non-ISIS related extremism,” Levin remarked.

Indeed, several commentators, most notably Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, have urged Middle Eastern governments, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, to ramp up counter-terrorism operations. While Obama may not have voiced it on Sunday, anticipated help from regional allies was likely a key factor in his decision to abstain from sending American soldiers to northern Syria, where ISIS maintains a stronghold.

As of now, 50 special operation troops have been authorized for deployment to Syria to advise local rebel groups battling ISIS. More than 50 new troops will be sent to Iraq to “conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture ISIL leaders,” U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said last week.

The President was right to emphasize that he won’t be sending troops en masse given America’s high level of “threat fatigue”, said Jack Rice, a criminal defense attorney and former CIA officer.

“Looking back at 2001 and the next 14 years after that, the idea of sending tens of thousands troops into northern Iraq and Syria to fight against ISIL is something I don’t think the American people have the stomach for. They want to see somebody else to fight this war frankly.”

Obama also failed to mention a strategy to bring stability to the Syrian-Iraq theater, “a breeding ground for foreign fighters and ideological recruitment,” Levin said.

Several terrorists, including the gunmen behind the deadly Paris shootings last month, are believed to have traveled to Syria to make contact with ISIS. Tashfeen Malik, one of the San Bernardino shooters, is believed to have become radicalized in Saudi Arabia, home to Wahhabi Islam—a practice that has been criticized of fostering extremism.

President #BarackObama speaks about counter-terrorism and the #United  #States fight against Islamic State during an address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in #Washington, December 6, 2015.