During Thursday's joint press briefing, President Obama changed his stance on the threat of the Islamic State and said that the terrorist group poses a serious threat.
"This is an important moment for our nations and for the world. This barbaric terrorist group, ISIL or Daesh, and its murderous ideology pose a serious threat to all of us. It cannot be tolerated. It must be destroyed and we must do it together," Obama said.
A few weeks prior Obama had said in an interview that the terror group was not gaining strength and was contained.
"I don't think they are gaining strength. What is true is that from the start our goal has been first, to contain and we have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq and in Syria they will come in, they leave, but you don't see the systematic march by ISIL across the terrain," Obama said in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
French President Francois Hollande joined Obama in the White House Thursday to talk about a joint strategy for combating the barbaric terrorist group. Hollande has plans to travel to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin in hopes to bring the United States and Russia together in military coordination.
During the joint press conference, Obama reaffirmed the US's alliance with France.
The Islamic State has taken responsibility for the terror attacks in Paris, France that killed 130 people and injured hundreds more. Since the attacks, France has increased its airstrikes on known IS sites.