As the war against the Islamic State spreads across the globe, the Obama administration is continually reassessing its strategy to fight ISIS, not only against trained extremists on the battlefields of Syria and Iraq, but also in the homeland against radicalized followers.

President Obama this morning chairs a National Security Council meeting on the counter-ISIS campaign at the Pentagon, where he is expected to receive an update from his national security team and discuss ways to “further enhance” the U.S.-led coalition’s campaign to degrade and destroy ISIS, according to the White House.

After the meeting, the president will deliver a statement from the Pentagon briefing room.

Obama most recently visited the Pentagon July 6 for a similarly rare huddle after he was widely criticized at the time for admitting the United States did not yet have a plan to defeat ISIS. He later outlined a strategy, step-by-step, that he predicted would be a winning approach over time.

But, in the months that followed, a string of terrorist attacks from the Sinai Peninsula to Paris to San Bernardino, California, have similarly challenged the administration’s approach to countering the growing threat posed by ISIS, which demonstrated its capabilities to wreak havoc outside of Syria and Iraq just days after Obama said ISIS was contained.

Russian military operations have further complicated the coalition’s efforts to support moderate rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Now, after his primetime Oval Office address fell flat, the president’s Pentagon visit is part of a series of events coordinated to show the administration’s comprehensive approach to fighting terrorism in the days leading into the holiday season.

Later this week, Obama will visit the National Counterterrorism Center to learn more about its efforts to track terrorism. With a backdrop of Muslim immigration dominating the presidential campaign trail, the president will also attend a naturalization ceremony Tuesday at the National Archives.

SOURCE: JOHN PARKINSON
ABC News