The nation’s two top military leaders made a pitch Thursday for $5.6 billion in new federal funding to eradicate the threat of Islamic State terrorists.
The United States, in addition to providing more cash, needs to cut off the supply of money rolling into ISIS — including an estimated $1 million a day in stolen oil, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said.
He was joined before Congress by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey, who said a small number of U.S. troops could be deployed near the Syrian border in the future.
If they arrive soon, they could find ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi still alive and kicking.
Dispelling reports that he was killed in an air strike by a U.S.-led coalition, Baghdadi released a new recording that called for Allah to destroy the U.S. and its allies.
“Harshen your grip on them,” he said. “Deal them the worst of defeats they will ever suffer.”
The ISIS head also derided President Obama’s plan to send 1,500 more soldiers to Iraq. The air strikes against ISIS targets have not “weakened its resolve,” he added.
It is unclear when the tape was made. But ISIS leaders met Nov. 2 with Al Qaeda officials at a retreat-style terror summit in a farmhouse in northern Syria.
The terrorists agreed at the creepy four-hour conference to stop fighting each other and instead join forces against their enemies, said a Syrian opposition official.
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