President Obama talks about the possibility of occupying Syria and Iraq
During a press conference at the G-20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey, President Obama told reporters that his concern about placing a large number of U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq and or Syria is that the lack of cooperation between the Syrian and Iraqi governments with their people could easily place the U.S. into a situation whereby the U.S. is occupying two countries.
The president is quoted as saying, “The one exception is that there have been a few who suggested that we should put large numbers of U.S. troops on the ground…and it is not just my view but the view of
my closest military and civilian advisors that that would be a mistake-because we would see a repetition of what we’ve seen before, which is, if you do not have local populations that are committed to inclusive governance and who are pushing back against ideological extremes, that they resurface—unless we’re prepared to have a permanent occupation of these countries.”
President Obama’s comments were in response to Democrats and Republicans’ concerns that the president’s “contain and degrade” strategy is not helping the U.S. and its allies to defeat the terrorist organization ISIS.
Last week, ISIS carried out a series of attacks in Beirut, Lebanon, and Paris, France. There were greater than 200 people injured and greater than 40 people killed during the attacks in Lebanon. The attacks in France resulted in greater than 300 people being injured and 129 people being killed.
During the Democratic Presidential Debate on Saturday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton distanced herself from President Obama’s “contain and degrade” strategy.
The former secretary of state told the moderators that ISIS “cannot be contained, it must be destroyed.”
Her views were echoed by the former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Diane Feinstein (D-CA).
On Monday, Sen. Feinstein told MSNBC that she’s “never been more concerned” and that the intelligence that she’s received has led her to believe that “ISIL is not contained.”
Like their Democratic counterparts, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Republican Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush questioned the effectiveness of the president’s strategy to defeat ISIS.
Ryan told the Today Show that the attacks in France are evidence that ISIS has not been contained and that the president needs to change course.
For his part, Bush took his criticism of the president a step further by tweeting that he doesn’t believe that President Obama knows that the U.S. is at war with ISIS.
President Obama has said that his strategy will take time and has urged everyone on both sides of the political aisle to be patient.
However, the attacks, especially in France, and the reports that some of the attackers were from Syria has made many impatient.
And the one area where the impatience is showing is in the governors’ unwillingness to accept Syrian refugees who have been displaced because of the Syrian war.
Several governors have expressed concern that the federal government wouldn’t be able to determine which refugees were not terrorist.
The governors said that their top priority is to protect the residents of their states and they don’t believe they can ensure their residents’ safety if they allow Syrian refugees, who may be terrorist, into their states.
President Obama was asked about the governors’ concern that the terrorists are using the Syrian refugee crisis in order to enter into the U.S.
The president responded that the U.S.’ screening process is secure and that the U.S. can’t turn away people who are searching for a safe haven from the same group of terrorist who are also maiming and killing Westerns.
French President Francois Hollande has taken a different approach. Hollande closed his country’s borders and is no longer allowing into France any new refugees.
Hollande has declared war on ISIS, and increase the number of raids on known jihadist hot spots in France.
He has also proposed a constitutional amendment to strip anyone with terrorist ties of their French citizenship.
The president is quoted as saying, “The one exception is that there have been a few who suggested that we should put large numbers of U.S. troops on the ground…and it is not just my view but the view of
my closest military and civilian advisors that that would be a mistake-because we would see a repetition of what we’ve seen before, which is, if you do not have local populations that are committed to inclusive governance and who are pushing back against ideological extremes, that they resurface—unless we’re prepared to have a permanent occupation of these countries.”
President Obama’s comments were in response to Democrats and Republicans’ concerns that the president’s “contain and degrade” strategy is not helping the U.S. and its allies to defeat the terrorist organization ISIS.
Last week, ISIS carried out a series of attacks in Beirut, Lebanon, and Paris, France. There were greater than 200 people injured and greater than 40 people killed during the attacks in Lebanon. The attacks in France resulted in greater than 300 people being injured and 129 people being killed.
During the Democratic Presidential Debate on Saturday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton distanced herself from President Obama’s “contain and degrade” strategy.
The former secretary of state told the moderators that ISIS “cannot be contained, it must be destroyed.”
Her views were echoed by the former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Diane Feinstein (D-CA).
On Monday, Sen. Feinstein told MSNBC that she’s “never been more concerned” and that the intelligence that she’s received has led her to believe that “ISIL is not contained.”
Like their Democratic counterparts, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Republican Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush questioned the effectiveness of the president’s strategy to defeat ISIS.
Ryan told the Today Show that the attacks in France are evidence that ISIS has not been contained and that the president needs to change course.
For his part, Bush took his criticism of the president a step further by tweeting that he doesn’t believe that President Obama knows that the U.S. is at war with ISIS.
President Obama has said that his strategy will take time and has urged everyone on both sides of the political aisle to be patient.
However, the attacks, especially in France, and the reports that some of the attackers were from Syria has made many impatient.
And the one area where the impatience is showing is in the governors’ unwillingness to accept Syrian refugees who have been displaced because of the Syrian war.
Several governors have expressed concern that the federal government wouldn’t be able to determine which refugees were not terrorist.
The governors said that their top priority is to protect the residents of their states and they don’t believe they can ensure their residents’ safety if they allow Syrian refugees, who may be terrorist, into their states.
President Obama was asked about the governors’ concern that the terrorists are using the Syrian refugee crisis in order to enter into the U.S.
The president responded that the U.S.’ screening process is secure and that the U.S. can’t turn away people who are searching for a safe haven from the same group of terrorist who are also maiming and killing Westerns.
French President Francois Hollande has taken a different approach. Hollande closed his country’s borders and is no longer allowing into France any new refugees.
Hollande has declared war on ISIS, and increase the number of raids on known jihadist hot spots in France.
He has also proposed a constitutional amendment to strip anyone with terrorist ties of their French citizenship.
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