President Barack Obama laid out America’s strategy for the response to ISIS, a growing threat challenging the stability of one of the most volatile areas of the world.

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“I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are,” Obama said Wednesday in a national address. “This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”

Local Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, gave the plan a mixed review, with the House Armed Services chairman praising the call to action, but cautioning against anything but a “robust” military response.

“The President is taking many of the correct steps needed to combat this enemy,” McKeon said in a news release. “He is forming a coalition of European NATO states and Middle Eastern allies. He has reportedly accepted the need to strike targets inside of Syria.”

These steps, while vital, are insufficient, McKeon said.

“They will not be able to take on this enemy alone,” he continued. “We cannot escape the need for a robust U.S. military force to provide the enabling capabilities and unique resources that only America can provide.”

Obama said that the campaign would be steady and relentless, and said he would not hesitate to strike ISIS inside Syria, according to an NBC report.

But he stressed that it would be different from the years-long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He compared it instead to targeted American strikes to wipe out terrorists in Yemen and Somalia.

Steeling the nation for a long fight, President Barack Obama vowed Wednesday to take out the militants of ISIS with U.S. air power and help from the world — but without American combat troops.

“We took out Osama bin Laden,” the president said — with the clear message that ISIS would be next.

“I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are,” he said. “This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”

Speaking from the White House, one day before the Sept. 11 anniversary and days after ISIS militants beheaded two Americans, the president promised to “lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.”

Culling support from moderate forces will also be a key to long term success in the region, McKeon said.

“History has a way of handing us tough decks,” the congressman said. “I believe America can meet this challenge and pray that the President will lead us there. Because this time, we cannot afford to fail.”

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