Obama refuses to block entry of Syrian refugees, says strategy against IS working

Speaking at a press conference on Monday  at the end of an international summit meeting,  Obama said he would intensify targeted airstrikes and assistance to local ground forces in Syria and Iraq, but it will take time to cripple the terrorist group.

"We have the right strategy, and we're going to see it through," Obama told reporters before heading to the Philippines and Malaysia for summit meetings there. He said he planned to intensify his current approach but not fundamentally alter it.

"What I do not do is take actions either because it is going to work politically or it is going to somehow, in the abstract, make America look tough or make me look tough."

Obama dismissed suggestions by some Republican presidential candidates, governors and lawmakers that the United States should block entry of Syrian refugees to prevent terrorists from slipping into the country.

"The people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism; they are the most vulnerable as a consequence of civil war and strife," he said, adding : "We do not close our hearts to these victims of such violence and somehow start equating the issue of refugees with the issue of terrorism."

 "That's not American. It's not who we are. We don't have religious tests to our compassion," he said.