To beat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ground combat troops may be necessary, according to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
McCarthy, the California Republican, called the situation with the Islamic State a “big crisis” on Sunday’s “Face the Nation.”
When asked whether the United States should send ground troops if the airstrikes aren’t enough, McCarthy deferred to the generals: If they “tell us we need special troops there, we need to.”
“Everything is on the table to make sure we win this,” he said. “Special forces and others are probably going to have to be on the ground.”
When asked if the U.S. should go directly after Syrian President Bashar Assad, McCarthy said, “we have the best-trained military in the world, I’d listen to them.”
McCarthy also said that if the president wants to expand action in the Middle East against the Islamic State, he will have to lay out a strategy and then seek authorization from Congress.
