Obama to Visit CIA as US Weighs Next Steps on Islamic State

Obama to Visit CIA as US Weighs Next Steps on Islamic State
President Barack Obama, accompanied by, from left, Secretary of State John Kerry, Vice President Joe Biden, and National Security Adviser Susan Rice, speaks during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, on March 31, 2016. Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo
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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will pay a rare visit to CIA headquarters Wednesday as the United States weighs sending more forces to Iraq to fight the Islamic State group.

In a meeting with top national security advisers, Obama planned to get an update on the U.S.-led campaign in Syria and Iraq as well as rocky diplomatic efforts to resolve Syria’s civil war. The meeting comes the week before Obama travels to Saudi Arabia for a summit with Persian Gulf leaders focused largely on the threat from the Islamic State.

Wednesday’s visit is the third time in recent months that Obama has taken a field trip to meet with national security officials who routinely come to the White House. He also visited the State Department and the Pentagon for similar sessions aimed at showing the public that all elements of the U.S. government are fully engaged in the fight.