Obama: The world is at a crossroads
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- U.N. Security Council members on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution to address the "growing threat" posed by foreign terrorist fighters, a measure that U.S. President Barack Obama applauded while insisting it "must be matched and translated into action" to have any effect.
"Resolutions alone will not be enough, promises on paper cannot keep us safe, lofty rhetoric and good intentions will not stop a single terrorist attack," Obama said.
If governments abide by the resolution and fully cooperate with one another, the world should become safer, the President said. But it won't be easy, especially given the potential of terrorism to spread beyond the Middle East: Obama noted U.S. intelligence estimates over 15,000 individuals from more than 80 nations have gone to fight in Syria, exacerbating the conflict there and raising the possibility they could "come home" and carry out deadly attacks.
"If there was ever a challenge in our interconnected world that could not be met by one nation alone it is this: terrorists crossing borders and threatening to unleash unspeakable violence," Obama said.
The resolution passed Wednesday requires nations to "suppress the recruiting, organizing, transporting, equipping" and financing of "foreign terrorist fighters," according to Obama. It also also calls on government to "help build the capacity of the states on the front lines of the fight."
But it will take more than corralling groups like ISIS militarily to permanently address the threat, Obama said.
"Potential recruits must hear the words of former terrorist fighters who have seen the truth: that groups like ISIL betray Islam by killing innocent men, women and children, the majority of whom are Muslim," the President said, using his administration's favored term for ISIS.
Obama also said the world must do better at addressing root problems -- from economic insecurity and political instability, including in Syria, where he called for "a political solution" to the years-long civil war there -- that play a role in drawing some to join terrorist groups.
"We must work to address ... the oppression, the lack of opportunity, too often the hopelessness that can make some individuals susceptible to appeals of extremism and violence," he said.
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Obama: The world is at a crossroads