Bay State Democrats slammed President Obama’s botched handling of the ISIS threat following bloody terror attacks in Paris – yet the president refused to send more American manpower to halt the radical group, calling additional boots on the ground a mistake. He said that rather than cast about for a new strategy, the USA would intensify its current campaign of airstrikes and arming and training moderate forces.
Advertisement
He has advocated for ground troops in Iraq, but not in Syria.
“This is exactly what Obama has been doing in Iraq and Syria, ordering a few hundred trainers here and a smattering of airstrikes and special operations troops there”.
President Obama has faced criticism saying that he needs to change his strategy and increase military presence in Syria.
The US-led coalition’s year-long bombing campaign in Syria has been complicated by Russia’s entry into the four-year conflict on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Iran is also an active backer of the Syrian regime. “It’s time the president stopped hedging and took meaningful steps to defend us and our allies”, Romney wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter recently told Congress that the army has only managed to train about 60 Syrian fighters to take on ISIS.
While officials say the US had been aware of the Islamic State’s desire to strike targets outside the Middle East, Obama said he had not been briefed on any intelligence that indicated an attack in Paris was likely.
He further said that unless there is a support or desire for inclusive governments in places like Syria, where the ISIS has spread its tentacles, deployment of ground troops will be futile.
No, we haven’t underestimated our abilities, this is precisely why we’re in Iraq as we speak and why we’re operating in Syria as we speak.
Donald Trump has said that he would “bomb the shit” out of ISIS, but he has been generally vague on details beyond that-though if you ask him, vagueness is actually his intention.
Obama underscored that the wave of terror attacks in Paris and the fight against ISIS necessitate that the two nations work more closely together to share intelligence – efforts that are now underway.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. French forces were briefed on the ISIS attacks that claimed the lives of about 149 people.
Finally, President Obama attempted to justify his position on supporting the bringing of Syrian immigrants into the United States. And it’s going to require an effective Iraqi effort that bridges Shia and Sunni differences, which is why our diplomatic efforts inside Iraq are so important as well. And let’s assume that we were to send 50,000 troops into Syria, what happens when there is a terrorist attack generated from Yemen?
Advertisement
Somehow, to paraphrase President Barack Obama, it has become routine – the president dismisses the terrorist threat, only to see terrorists carry out horrific attacks that give lie to his complacency. “I mean, these are the kinds of things we come to expect of someone who focuses on the petty, always political, constantly looking to gain the upper hand in some political dispute in the United States domestically as opposed to focusing on his role as commander in chief”.
