Speaking after he was briefed at the Pentagon on the progress of the campaign against the group styling itself Islamic State, Barack Obama said it would not be a "quick" battle but rather was a "long-term campaign" against a group that was "opportunistic and nimble".
He confirmed the US had so far carried out over 5,000 airstrikes against ISIS/ISIL targets.
He said recent IS losses proved the group could be defeated and that the US was now "going after" the IS leadership in Syria.
Mr Obama said there was a "glimmer of good news" as there was now recognition from all the partners in the region that they needed to work together.
Speaking at the Pentagon President Obama said the coalition had been "moving too slowly", but with the extra forces that he had authorised last month, they were now "speeding up the training", and delivering more anti-aircraft missiles.
He said it was important to "develop local security forces that can sustain progress", as it was not "enough" to send in American troops to temporarily set back the IS fighters, which then created a void that was filled again, adding that local forces need to succeed and sustain in terms of security and governance in the region.
He stressed if the US tried to do everything itself, there would be "a whole lot of unintended consequences" that would make the US "less secure".
President Obama said the coalition had made it harder for IS to carry out large scale attacks but lone wolf attacks were harder to work against.
He again repeated that the US was not "at war with Islam" but rather it was fighting terrorists "who distort Islam and whose victims were mostly Muslims".
He admitted that the "large battle for hearts and minds" would be a "generational struggle".
rte.ie
7/7/15
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