President Obama is sending Secretary of State John Kerry to the Middle East to help build a regional coalition against Islamic State, or ISIL, the militant group that has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria. Speaking at the White House, Obama also said he has asked the Pentagon to draw up a range of military options.

President Obama: “I’ve asked Secretary Kerry to travel to the region to continue to build the coalition that’s needed to meet this threat. As I’ve said, rooting out a cancer like ISIL will not be quick or easy, but I’m confident that we can and we will, working closely with our allies and our partners. For our part, I’ve directed Secretary Hagel and our Joint Chiefs of Staff to prepare a range of options. I’ll be meeting with my National Security Council again this evening as we continue to develop that strategy.”

Obama went on to tell reporters, “We don’t have a strategy yet.” The White House is mulling options including expanding U.S. airstrikes on ISIL into Syria from Iraq. The United States admitted this week to flying surveillance missions over Syria to gather intelligence on ISIL.