Obama huddles with top advisers

President Obama is convening a meeting of his National Security Council Wednesday morning ahead of his prime-time address detailing his strategy for confronting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror network.

The meeting — a late addition to the president’s public schedule — will include Vice President Biden, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and National Security Adviser Susan Rice. Other participants in the Situation Room meeting include Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey and CIA Director James Clapper.

Shortly before the meeting, the president spoke by phone with Saudi King Abdallah Abd al Aziz. Reporters were allowed to briefly watch the president, joined by aides, place the call from his desk in the Oval Office.

{mosads}The administration has been working to bring the Saudis — who boast one of the best-equipped militaries in the Middle East — into the coalition fighting ISIS. The Saudis participated in NATO-coordinated airstrikes in Libya in 2011, and the oil-rich nation could also provide funding for humanitarian aid or assist as moderators with Sunni governments that are willing to combat ISIS.

Secretary of State John Kerry is traveling in Iraq and is not among the expected attendees. But speaking to reporters in Baghdad, Kerry said Obama would use his address to lay out “his plans and his strategy for how together, with many other countries involved in a large coalition, we will take on the challenge” posed by ISIS.

Kerry said his trip was part of an effort to gather a “broad coalition” to fight “this terrorist structure, which is unacceptable by any standard anywhere in the world.”

The meeting and speech come a day before the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and at a time when polls show increasing anxiety among the American people. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday shows fewer than a third of Americans approve of the president’s foreign policy decisions; 61 percent back military action against ISIS.

Some 47 percent of respondents say the U.S. is now less safe than it was before 9/11 — the highest number since the terror attack — and some 94 percent say they have heard about the brutal murder of two U.S. journalists at the hands of ISIS in Syria.

A senior administration official told The New York Times that the president is open to authorizing an expanded bombing campaign against ISIS targets in Syria, although it is still unclear whether the president will make that threat in Wednesday’s address. He is expected to outline an expanded military campaign within Iraq, as well as international efforts to combat the threat posed by ISIS.

Obama’s “comprehensive strategy” will include “military action and support for the forces combating [ISIS] on the ground — both the opposition in Syria and a new, inclusive Iraqi government,” a White House official said.

“The president will discuss how we are building a coalition of allies and partners in the region and in the broader international community to support our efforts, and will talk about how we work with the Congress as a partner in these efforts.”