President Obama was wrong when he said the U.S. isn’t losing the war against the Islamic State, according to two key congressional Republicans.
Obama said in an interview last week with the Atlantic that “I don’t think we’re losing,” even though the Islamic State had just taken the Iraqi city of Ramadi, and Palmyra in Syria was about to fall.
“The president resists saying we’re losing it. Well, we’re not winning, we know that,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, replied Sunday on ABC News.
The Obama administration spent the week saying the fall of the cities in Iraq and Syria were a “setback” that should not be seen as a sign that the terrorist group is succeeding in taking over huge chunks of the Middle East. The White House also says its airstrike campaign is continuing to degrade the group’s capacity to wage war, but Thornberry disagreed.
“I don’t see evidence of that,” he said. He said maps showing who controls various territories in the Middle East show “their territory expanding.” Thornberry also said the ideology of the Islamic State is also growing, and said their brand is growing “faster than their territory.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also said on CBS News that Obama was wrong to claim any momentum against the terrorist group. When asked what can be done to turn the tide, McCain said, “First, have the president recognize that he was incorrect when he said we are not losing.”
McCain said the U.S. needs to put more specialized teams on the ground that can call in more effective airstrikes against key targets, and that more targeted raids need to be conducted. He said the way things sit today, the U.S. has no apparent strategy for victory.
“There is no strategy, and anybody that says that there is, I’d like to hear what it is, because it certainly isn’t apparent now.”
