Posted: 09/24/2014 at 2:13pm | IP Logged

As ISIS Advances, ‘No Boots’ Vow Draws New Fire

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CBN News

President Barack Obama is facing fresh criticism for refusing to consider sending troops to fight the Islamic State terrorists in Iraq.

Some members of Congress say airstrikes and arming Syrian rebels may not be enough to stop the advance of ISIS.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., notes that America already has boots on the ground because U.S. Special Forces are present in Iraq. He believes more troops may be needed.

"I don't see how ultimately we can avoid putting combat troops on the ground in some capacity, but more than that, I don't know why the president says up front that we're not going to put boots on the ground," King said.

"Don't take anything off the table. Never let the enemy know what you're going to do or not going to do," he added.

But U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power defended the president's strategy.

"There are troops on the ground," she said. "There are Iraqi troops, there are Kurdish troops, there are Syrian troops that have been fighting ISIL at great expense and at great sacrifice."

Meanwhile, some foreign leaders are also weighing in.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair supports the international coalition against ISIS, but he too admits that foreign troops may eventually be needed.

"I think, by the way, no one is talking about the need to put in an army of occupation. You're not re-running Iraq or Afghanistan, but I think we'll undoubtedly over time a need to hit ISIS not simply through an aerial campaign, but also on the ground," he said.

"And the question will be can those people if they are supported locally, can they do that job or will we have to supplement that?" he added.

As the debate over Obama's strategy continues in Washington, members of both parties agree that America needs to take strong action to end the Islamic State's reign of terror.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says ISIS is a barbaric group.

"It beheads children," she said. "I have a picture of what I estimate to be a 6-year-old girl in a Gengham party dress, white tights, a little red band around her wrist, Mary Janes and she's lying on the ground and her head is gone."