President Barack Obama is intensifying his bid to sell his yet-to-be revealed plan to destroy the Islamic State, scheduling a national address and calling congressional leaders to the Oval Office.
Obama will summon the symbolic weight of a prime time speech at 9 pm tomorrow (local time), speaking from the ceremonial state floor of the White House, officials said today.
The speech will attempt to redress criticism that he has been slow to respond to the militant group's seizure of a haven in Syria and Iraq, amid fears fighters armed with Western passports could train their sights on the US homeland.
Obama will enlist public support for a new military venture abroad at a poignant moment -- the eve of the 13th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, which pitched America into a Middle East conflagration he has spent much of his presidency trying to escape.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama would use his speech to "discuss with the American people the threat posed by (IS) and to lay out the United States' strategy for degrading and ultimately destroying the terrorist group."
Expectations that the president will expand US strikes in Iraq into Syria coincide with signs that the American public sees the group as an increasing threat, and is increasingly open to stepped up military action.
Obama was due to meet senior congressional leaders in the Oval Office at 3.15 pm (1915 GMT) to discuss his plans, which officials say will involve a broad international coalition and efforts to choke off IS funding and the flow of foreign fighters to the group as well as military action.
The White House has been unwilling to say exactly what it wants from Congress, saying it wants "buy in" from lawmakers but stopping short of signaling the president will ask for authorization to take military action.
Obama has warned however that he will likely ask for more money to finance the campaign, which senior officials say could outlast his presidency, which ends in January 2017.
Before the talks, Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell said that Obama needed to offer a clear outline of his plan, after he was pilloried less than two weeks ago for admitting he did not yet have a strategy to take on IS in Syria.
