'This Week' Transcript: Sen. Ted Cruz
— -- Below is the rush transcript of "This Week" on September 7, 2014. It may contain errors.
ANNOUNCER: Starting right now on ABC THIS WEEK -- breaking overnight, the president set to announce new strategy, as U.S. planes strike brand new ISIS targets.
Also breaking this weekend, President Obama backs down on immigration reform. We have full analysis of the White House delay and reaction from top Tea Party critic, Ted Cruz.
And Election Day countdown -- control of Congress at stake. Stats guru Nate Silver reveals his latest picks -- are Republicans a lock to re-take the Senate?
From ABC News, THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS begins now.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, HOST: And we begin with the latest in the battle against ISIS -- a significant expansion of the air campaign inside Iraq and news that the president will layout his new strategy this Wednesday in Washington.
ABC's chief global affairs correspondent, Martha Raddatz, is here with all the new developments -- good morning, Martha.
MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, George.
The president's speech this week will lay out a strategy to destroy ISIS far beyond what he has proposed in the past, a complicated, long-term and urgent mission that could very likely mean airstrikes in Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RADDATZ (voice-over): Day after day, the brutality of ISIS stuns the world. This week, images of the horrific execution of a second American reporter and over the weekend, a mass grave discovered, 15 bodies, each shot in the head and vows from the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria that America should be on guard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Americans should be very concerned. This, in many respects, represents the most significant threat that this country has seen since September 11th.
RADDATZ: A threat by a jihadist group the president says cannot be merely contained, it must be destroyed.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to degrade, and ultimately defeat, ISIL, the same way that we have gone after al Qaeda.
RADDATZ: Meaning hunting down ISIS leaders with drones and manned aircraft and relentlessly pounding ISIS fighters seeking to overtake more territory.
Overnight, expanded airstrikes were announced in Iraq, to help the Iraqi security forces hold onto the Haditha Dam.
All this while the president helps build an international coalition to help with the fight.
But the major question, will the U.S. and that coalition launch airstrikes into Syria?
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said last month, you can't just focus on Iraq.
GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Can they be defeated without addressing that part of their organization which resides in Syria?
The answer is no. We -- that will have to be addressed on both sides of what is, essentially, at this point, a non-existent border.
RADDATZ: The U.S. already flying surveillance missions over Syria, looking for possible targets -- images of a Predator drone spotted by Syrian rebels in the northern part of the country hit the Internet Friday.
The president is not expected to announce any further action in Syria in his speech this week, but he will certainly be laying the groundwork and the reasons it may be necessary.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
STEPHANOPOULOS: But Martha, one of the concerns of going into Syria, taking out ISIS in Syria, is that it will actually strengthen our other adversary, President Assad.
