McCain: More US boots on the ground in Iraq, Syria
A powerful US senator is pushing President Barack Obama to put more American boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says "it is obvious that President Obama currently has no coherent strategy to achieve his stated goal to 'degrade and ultimately destroy' [the Islamic State]." Part of […]John T. Bennett writes for Defense News:
A powerful US senator is pushing President Barack Obama to put more American boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says "it is obvious that President Obama currently has no coherent strategy to achieve his stated goal to 'degrade and ultimately destroy' [the Islamic State]." Part of any such plan, McCain said in a statement Monday, should recognize that "American boots on the ground are necessary to defeat [the group] in Iraq and Syria."
Specifically, McCain wants to embed more US special operations forces as advisers with US allies on the ground. The hawkish 2008 GOP presidential nominee also wants Obama to adopt an unambiguous stance against Assad's rule, referring to embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
