Sen. Toomey: American Boots On The Ground Necessary To Beat ISIS
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- President Obama sent an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) to combat ISIS to Congress on Wednesday. The proposal limited the action to three years until it has to be renewed by Congress, a clause that many conservatives find undermines it all.
Senator Pat Toomey told WPHT morning host Chris Stigall that he feels that when you're going to war, "it's not a good idea to tell your enemy what you won't do."
"You don't take things off the table. You don't put an artificial timeline on this. Look at the barbarism and the danger of these people; it's just unbelievable. It's horrifying, and it's real, and it's the most aggressive threat and by far the best funded. They own real estate, and have nation state for crying out loud, and we're going to say that we're only going to go at it for three years? You don't put a deadline on that."
Toomey attacked Obama's claim that this attack on ISIS would not require American "boots on the ground," saying that while it ran counter to everything that he's been told by the experts, it is something that we would have to do in order to be successful.
"I've spoken to a lot of military experts. I have not heard one yet suggest that this can be done through the air...I have long argued that the fighting force on the ground should consist primarily of the countries that have an immediate stake in the neighborhood...but we do have to recognize that the United States military has capabilities that nobody else on the planet has, and if we're going to be successful in this, it's going to take some American presence to even make a ground force effective. We've got to demonstrate a commitment to see this through, to win, or I don't think that we sign up any of those guys to participate in a big way."
While he feels that it is debatable that the President would have the authority to attack ISIS without a new AUMF, Toomey maintains that Congress should pass it.
"For the sake of clarity, for the sake of getting the American people on board, for the sake of manifesting to the whole world that we are a united government determined to fight and win this war, we should pass a new authorization whether or not you think the President currently has the authority."
While on the topic of ISIS, Stigall brought to Toomey's attention Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's comment on how Congressional Republicans are acting in the debate on how to fund the Department of Homeland Security, saying that they are "behaving like ISIS."
"That's extremely disappointing and wildly outrageous," replied Toomey.
