Topeka ? U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts expressed some support for President Barack Obama’s plan to use military force to combat Islamist militants in the Middle East, while his independent challenger in this year’s election, Greg Orman, remained silent.

Meanwhile, Rep. Lynn Jenkins, whose district includes Lawrence, expressed guarded support for the use of military force, although she wants to see more details of the president’s plan. But her Democratic challenger Margie Wakefield was more supportive of the president.

Those were the reactions from local members of the Kansas congressional delegation to Obama’s televised address Wednesday night in which he outlined his strategy to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

That group, known also by the acronym ISIL, is a militant group that claims religious authority over the entire Muslim world and has claimed responsibility for the beheading of two American journalists.

Obama’s plan calls for launching air strikes against the militants, but deploying only a few hundred soldiers on the ground to train and support Iraqi military forces as well as opposition forces engaged in a civil war in Syria.

His plan also calls for using counterterrorism to cut off funding and degrade support for ISIS and increased humanitarian aid for civilians displaced by the fighting.

Obama said he has legal authority to carry out the plan, but he encouraged Congress to grant additional support, especially for training and equipping opposition forces in Syria.

Roberts, a Republican and a former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has been critical of the president for not developing a strategy earlier.

“Tonight, the President finally recognized the grave and serious threat posed by ISIS,” Roberts said in a statement released after the speech. “The President laid out his plan to address this threat; however, President Obama’s strategy remains much too vague and leans far too heavily on foreign partners.”

“I am deeply concerned that the President’s plan is focused on the long-term solution and fails to address the immediate need to stop ISIS in its tracks and turn back its cancerous spread throughout the region,” Roberts continued. “ISIS remains a threat to the Middle East, to global security, and to the homeland, and I am committed to working with my colleagues in the Senate and our military leaders to eliminate the terrorist group, ISIS.”

Roberts is being challenged for re-election this year by independent candidate Greg Orman, a Johnson County businessman.

But Orman did not respond to requests for comment.

Republican Sen. Jerry Moran also declined to comment on the president’s speech or his position on responding to ISIS.

Jenkins, who represents the 2nd District of Kansas, including Lawrence, said she supports part of the plan but has reservations.

“We must continue the current air strikes,” Jenkins said. “However, I have many questions about the details of arming the Syrian rebels, as well as the stability of allies in the region and this Administration’s ability to forge relationships to address a common threat. Rest assured I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure ISIL is eliminated and destroyed.”

Jenkins is being challenged this year by Democrat Margie Wakefield, a Lawrence attorney, who was more supportive of the president’s plan.

“ISIL is a grave threat to our interests and has demonstrated a clear departure from our values,” Wakefield said. “We cannot wait for them to grow stronger and must begin to degrade their capabilities immediately. The President has made a strong case that we can effect a positive outcome with our air superiority in concert with a broad coalition of allies and forces in the region.”