AdvertisementHow To Measure Success Against The New Monster In The Middle East?September 16, 2014Ron ElvingfacebookEmailPresident Obama addresses the nation from the Cross Hall in the White House on Sept. 10. Obama ordered the United States into a broad military campaign to degrade and ultimately destroy militants in two volatile Middle East nations, authorizing airstrikes inside Syria for the first time, as well as an expansion of strikes in Iraq. (AP)