Obama Delivers Annual Speech To The United Nations General Assembly

President Obama Delivered Annual Address To United Nations General Assembly. On September 24, President Obama delivered his annual address to the United Nations General Assembly, in which he addressed the Ebola outbreak, Russian aggression, and the threat posed by the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL). As the Washington Post reported, Obama “challenged world leaders Wednesday to join the United States in confronting a series of global crises that had bred a 'pervasive sense of unease,' as he sought to reassert American leadership abroad at a critical juncture.” [The Washington Post, 9/24/14]  

Fox News Figures Complain Obama Took Too Long To Mention Islamic State

Fox Contributor: “Eighteen Minutes Into His Speech,” Obama Mentioned ISIS, Which Shows “He Really Doesn't Want To Deal With This.” Following Obama's UN speech, Fox contributor and former George W. Bush appointee Ric Grenell appeared on Happening Now, where host Jon Scott said that Obama has to learn “the fact that you have to deal with the world as it is, not the world you wish it to be.” Grenell responded:

GRENELL: I think that's one of the major problems that we're seeing with President Obama. You know, eighteen minutes in, he mentions ISIS. Eighteen minutes into his speech. He really doesn't want to deal with this. And I think the whole speech shows that. [Fox News, Happening Now, 9/24/14]

Fox Host: "Obama Spoke For 38 Minutes And ISIS Didn't Come Up Until 18 Minutes" Into It. On the September 24 edition of Fox News' Outnumbered, co-hosts Sandra Smith and Harris Faulkner complained that Obama's comments on the Islamic State in his address were brief, while Faulkner criticized: 

FAULKNER: Not only brief, but he spoke for 38 minutes and ISIS didn't come up until 18 minutes into the speech. [Fox News, Outnumbered, 9/24/14]

But Obama Referenced “Terrorists In Syria And Iraq” Within The First Minutes Of His Address

Obama Referenced Terrorists In Syria And Iraq Less Than Three Minutes Into His Address. In the opening remarks of Obama's speech before the UN general assembly, approximately three minutes into his address, he mentioned Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria, saying (emphasis added):

OBAMA: As we gather here, an outbreak of Ebola overwhelms public health systems in West Africa, and threatens to move rapidly across borders. Russian aggression in Europe recalls the days when large nations trampled small ones in pursuit of territorial ambition. The brutality of terrorists in Syria and Iraq forces us to look into the heart of darkness.[WhiteHouse.gov, 9/24/14] [New York Magazine, 9/24/14]

Obama Spent Bulk Of His Address On Presence Of And Response To Terrorist Threat. After discussing climate change, Russian hostility towards Ukraine, and the Ebola crisis, Obama focused specifically on the Islamic State and “the cancer of violent extremism that has ravaged so many parts of the Muslim world.” He spoke on terrorism for approximately 20 minutes. [WhiteHouse.gov, 9/24/14]