Notes

(CNN) - A week after the United States and a group of allies started bombing Syria, lawmakers continue to question the strategy of President Barack Obama to defeat the militant group ISIS, and the president admitted, in an interview with CBS Sunday that this threat is more powerful than originally thought.
Echoing the remarks by James Clapper, the head of the intelligence services of the United States, Obama said his government "underestimated what was happening in Syria," during its civil war, allowing the Syrian territory became " ground zero for jihadists around the world. "
During a taped interview with CBS 60 minutes , Obama said that terrorists are remnants of Al Qaeda in Iraq, which after being dropped by American forces "went into hiding".
"Over the past few years-during the chaos of Syrian civil war, which essentially saw large parts of the country were completely without government-they were able to recover, and take advantage of the chaos, " Obama said, adding that the United States also overestimated the Iraqi security forces, who were quickly defeated by ISIS when they took control of the northern city of Mosul this summer.
Obama spent most of last week to seek international support for its mission against ISIS on UN leaders saying the militants represent a "red death" that must be defeated.
An air campaign, which began last week and including coalition support five Arab nations continued this weekend with attacks in the city in northern Syria, Ayn al-Arab, where Kurdish forces have fought ISIS.
The mission, which will not end soon according to the American authorities, is designed to "degrade and eventually destroy" ISIS said Obama.
The White House will remain adamant in their position that will not send American combat forces to Iraq or Syria, although military "advisors" were sent to Iraq in the hope that can strengthen the security forces local.
Obama aides have been careful to state that the military operation in the Middle East will not look like the wars of the past decade, leaving many skeptical American intervention abroad.
"We are doing this in a very different way than they did in the past," said Tony Blinken, national security advisor, the CNN State of the Union with Candy Crowley.
"We're not sending hundreds of thousands of American troops," Blinken said.
"Nor are we spending trillions of dollars. What we are doing is to empower local actors with significant support we can give you, as our air power, intelligence, training, equipment and advice. "
Obama has said he does not need congressional approval for the air campaign in Iraq and Syria, citing the authorization that was administered in 2001 to go after al Qaeda. What it says the president of the United States is that it would "welcome" to support the Legislature could offer.