Ed Henry: Does Obama Think He’ll Beat ISIS Without Ground Troops?

‘The president is putting himself in a trap, so it didn’t sound like he was saying count on the Syrian rebels’

Ed Henry: Does Obama Think He'll Beat ISIS Without Ground Troops? (RealClearPolitics)

ED HENRY: How does the president, how do you react when his former Secretary of Defense says you can't win, you can't destroy ISIS without having U.S. combat troops on the ground.

JOSH EARNEST: I think [Gates' opinion] is consistent with what I just said. It’s going to require combat boots on the ground to take the fight to ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

HENRY: Hes suggesting U.S. troops, not Syrian rebels.

EARNEST: I didn’t see the entirety of his remarks. I’m not sure that’s what he is implying.

HENRY: The president is putting himself in a trap, so it didn't sound like he was saying count on the Syrian rebels.

EARNEST: There is a basic strategy that the president has laid out, and it does include boots on the ground. The question is whose boots on the ground is it going to be? They are not going to be U.S. boots on the ground engaged in combat operations in Iraq and Syria.

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