direction. and i alluded to this in the west point speech. this is i talked about it today with respect to the counterterrorism partnership fund. there is going to be a long-term problem counterterrorism partnep fund. there is going to be a long-term problem in this region in which we have to build and partner with countries that are committed to our interests, our values, and at the same time we have immediate problems with terrorist organizations that may be advancing. and rather than try to play whack-a-mole wherever these terrorist organizations build up, we have to make sure we have effective partnerships, make sure they have capacity, some of the assets that have been devoted solely to afghanistan over the last decade we ve got
our embassy and personnel operate ning inside of iraq. the president and i have no greater priority than the safety of our men and women serving overseas. so i ve taken some steps to relocate is some of our embassy personnel and we ve sent reinforcements to better secure our facilities. second, at my direction, we have significantly increased our intelligence, surveyance and reconnaissance assets so that we ve got a better picture of what s taking place inside of iraq. and this will give us a greater understanding of what isil is doing, where it s located and how we might support efforts to counter this threat. third, the united states will continue to increase our support to iraqi security forces. we re prepared to create joint operations centers in baghdad and northern iraq to share intelligence and coordinate planning to confront the terrorist threat of isil. through our new counterterrorism partnership fund we re prepared
taking control of western are iraq. now they ve taken control of mosul, 100 miles from baghdad. and what s the president doing? taking a nap. reporter: in his defense, the president said the military cannot be everywhere at all times. instead, he pushed a counterterrorism partnership fund he first unveiled in a west point speech. giving us the capacity to extend our reach without sending u.s. troops to play whac-a-mole wherever there ends up being a problem. reporter: except the president s top advisers have touted the withdrawal from iraq as a success. it will be one of the great achievements of this administration. reporter: today mitt romney told fox some of thing slogans from 2012 have not exactly panned out. iraq failing to get a statd us of forces agreement so we could have a group of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers there, all the decisions made in the past puts us in a difficult position now frankly with poor options. congresswoman nancy pelosi
get started that s part of what the counterterrorism partnership fund that i am going to be calling for congress to help finance is all about, giving us the capacity to extend our reach without sending u.s. troops to play whack a mole wherever there ends up being a problem in a particular country. that s going to be more effective and more legitimate in the eyes of people in the region as well as the international community but going to take time to build it in the short term, we have to deal with what clearly is an emergency situation in iraq. if i may take one question. mr. president, just on the point [ inaudible ] where is the line drawn? i gave a very long speech
if just, necessary and effective, multilateral military action. suggesting this week that the president has laid out a blueprint to has a post 9/11 world, in which the question of american intervention has evolved beyond dual direct threats posed by afghanistan and iraq. the president sees a need for a strategy that is selective in its response to diffuse threat, and one that deploys american military knowledge when in place of force. that was at the heart of the announcement he made in the speech. i m calling on congress to support a new counterterrorism partnership fund that will allow us to train, build capacity and facilitate partner countries on the front lines. and defense hawks like senator john mccain were quick to disparage the speech. the president keeps setting