US President Barack Obama wants everyone to know "how we roll": The US always takes the lead in international crises.
In a "60 Minutes" interview Sunday evening, Obama was asked why the US was contributing such a significant portion of the military coalition against the jihadist group known as the Islamic State, or ISIS. Obama responded by arguing that other countries were not stepping up.
"When trouble comes up anywhere
in the world, they don't call Beijing, they don't call Moscow. They call
us. That's the deal," he quipped.
When CBS' Steve Kroft pressed
Obama on the relatively small contributions from some of the US'
coalition partners, Obama insisted such arrangements were expected.
"That's always the case. That's
always the case. America leads. We are the indispensable nation," he
said. "We have capacity no one else has. Our military is the best in the
history of the world."
Obama pointed to past US humanitarian efforts after other countries were hit by environmental disasters.
"When there's a typhoon in the
Philippines, take a look at who's helping the Philippines deal with that
situation," he said. "When there's an earthquake in Haiti, take a look
at who's leading the charge helping Haiti rebuild. That's how we roll.
That's what makes us Americans."
