Not technically but he can send military forces to another nation for up to 90 days.

These things have unintended consequences though.

Before we invaded Iraq, there was no Al-Qaeda there. Saddam ran a tight (but harsh) ship.

After the war, Al-Qaeda and then ISIS grew from all the mess in Iraq.

Whose to say remnants/descendants of the ISIS members we eventually kill don't start an even harsher group of terrorists?

When does the war against terror actually end?

Never. It doesn't end. It never has. That's the secret.
There has been all sorts of conflict involving the Middle East for millennia.

Yes, but it's only relatively recently that conflict in the middle east has eventually lead to revenge/repercussions in the West.

If this were still 1950, and travel/terrorism wasn't so easy, I doubt most people would care about further angering radicals/potential-radicals in far off lands. But, today, I'm not so sure. I think ultimately, the only way to defeat ideologies like the ones ISIS/ISIL are based/run on is to leave them alone to wreak havoc and turn the local public against them.

Clearly not.

Aren't we already at war with them?

Speech for anyone who didn't see it:



And he really didn't say anything more extravagant than what he's being saying all week other than that he approved possible airstrikes in Syria as well.

There's been a war on terror for 13 years now..

Let's gather in a circle and sing Kumbaya sorry but this doesn't work. The Islamic State must be razed from the Earth.