Durbin Expects Congress To OK Military Resources To Combat ISIS
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As President Barack Obama prepared to outline an expanded U.S. campaign to defeat an ultra-violent militant group in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin was offering a few ideas on what the president should include in his speech.
WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports the president was scheduled to meet with congressional leaders on Tuesday, and then deliver a speech spelling out his strategy on Wednesday – the eve of the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Durbin said Obama will ask Congress for the authority to commit military force and technology to the effort to neutralize the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but not to send troops to the region.
"What the president has asked for is the authority to use military resources, and equipment, and technology; but not to commit troops. I think Congress would draw the line there. We don't want to have another standing army in Iraq, Syria, of Afghanistan for that matter," he said. "I think there will be general bipartisan support for the president, as long as he's specific about what he wants to achieve."
Durbin said ISIS is like no terrorist group the U.S. has dealt with before, and strong military force is needed to defeat them.
"We've fought a lot of terrorist groups, starting with al Qaeda on 9/11. ISIS is different. ISIS holds territory. No terrorist group we've dealt with does that. ISIS also likes to take over banks, and they steal all the money in the banks, and they build up a treasury," Durbin said.
The senator also said ISIS is engaged in "the worst savagery we've seen in modern times," pointing to the beheadings of two American journalists who were abducted in Syria
"Even al Qaeda condemns beheadings, but ISIS of course just plows on. There's nothing too depraved for this organization," he said.