CNN's Jim Acosta asked President Obama why U.S. forces could not take the Islamic State "bastards’’ out at Monday's press conference in Turkey.
Acosta asked Obama about his previous comments calling the Islamic State a "JV" team and how the terror group could be contained if the group now occupies territory in Iraq and Syria. He said that the U.S. has the greatest military in the world and that it would have the support of our allies.
"I guess the question is, if you'll forgive the language, why can't we take out these bastards?" Acosta asked.
Obama came off annoyed with Acosta's questions, saying that he had spent the previous three questions answering the same thing and did not know what more to add. He said that the radical Islamic group was not a traditional military opponent and that his strategy will address that.
Obama said that retaking the territory and leaving troops in the Middle East would not solve the problem of eliminating the dynamics that would continue to produce violent jihadist groups.
"Given the fact there are enormous sacrifices involved in any military transaction, it's best that we don't shoot first and aim later. It's important for us to get the strategy right and the strategy that we are pursuing is the right one,’’ Obama said.
Many have called for increase presence of troops on the ground to the terror group after the deadly attacks in Paris. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks and appears to have released a video calling for more attacks, with Washington, D.C. potentially next on the list.