U.S. President Barack Obama has said the United States has not yet developed a strategy for confronting the Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
Speaking to reporters in Washington on August 28, Obama said a range of options was being considered.
Obama said he would dispatch Secretary of State John Kerry to the Middle East soon to discuss the matter with regional partners.
Obama said it was time for Middle Eastern states to "stop being ambivalent" about the aims of extremist groups like the Islamic State.
The United States is already striking militant targets in Iraq, and administration officials have said the president was considering similar action in neighboring Syria.
Obama spoke shortly before convening a meeting of his national security advisers to discuss a range of Pentagon options for confronting the Islamic State group.
