Was Obama’s Response To ISIS Too Late In Coming?
As the Obama administration works to combat the growing threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, critics are now sounding off, criticizing the president on his actions — or lack thereof. Former Defense Secretary and head of the CIA Leon Panetta has spoken out against the administrations tactics. As originally reported by CNN, Panetta has been very vocal about Obama’s response to the terrorist organization, and even argues that the current response of calculated airstrikes is not enough to stop the barbaric terrorist group.
“I take the position that when you’re commander in chief that you oughta keep all options on the table… to be able to have the flexibility to do what is necessary in order to defeat the enemy. We’re conducting airstrikes. But to make those airstrikes work, to be able to do what you had to do, you don’t — you don’t just send planes in and drop bombs. You’ve gotta have targets. You’ve gotta know what you’re goin’ after. To do that, you do need people on the ground.”
The very concept of ISIS began when the US began pulling troops out of the Middle East two years ago. Earlier this summer, the group of militants and terrorists began to form into an organized unit and started a march across the region of Syria and Iraq, executing those who opposed them and easily taking city and town after city and town as they made their way to Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. The Obama administration began a series of airstrikes in July, and that was met with very public beheadings of American journalists as a “warning to America,” as reported here on The Inquisitr.
In the video interview, Leon Panetta argues that the only way to stop ISIS is to put American troops back on the ground in Iraq and in Syria and to root them out. He went on to tell CNN that ISIS could have been prevented had the US kept troops in Iraq instead of pulling out in 2011.
“I do think that if we had had a presence there, it might not have created the kind of vacuum that we saw develop in Iraq.”
President Obama has changed his course in recent weeks and has relented to put American soldiers back in the region in a supervisory capacity. The decision to arm Syrian rebels has also been discussed, all in addition to the continuing airstrikes. But the response has been too late in the eyes of Panetta.
“He’s made the decision to put troops on the ground in Iraq, to try to help the — security forces. He’s made the decision to — arm and train rebel forces in Syria. And he’s made the decision to conduct air attacks. So in many ways– he’s made the right decisions now. I think those decisions should’ve been made two years ago.”
Panetta, who is on a media tour to promote his new book, Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace, has spoken out about the handling of ISIS on almost every stop. On the anniversary of the September 11th attacks, former Vice President Dick Cheney also spoke out on Obama’s handling of the crisis, as reported on The Inquisitr. Even Hillary Clinton has spoken out against her former boss’ handling of ISIS. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Clinton and another former Defense Secretary Robert Gates have both said that he “failed to heed advice” and that they “lost faith in the policy” of the US military action in Afghanistan.
With even his one-time allies calling him out, the burden of solving the crisis falls on President Obama’s decisions. Has Obama made the right choice in regards ISIS? Can the US put and end to the terrorist organization, or, as Panetta and Hillary Clinton have said, is it too late?
