“Boots on the ground” required to defeat ISIS says former US Secretary of Defense
Washington (IraqiNews.com) US former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said on Sunday, that it is unlikely that Brack Obama’s plan for defeating ISIS will be achieved in Iraq and Syria without putting some “boots on the ground.”
Gates said, “What I believe, and what I suspect most military people believe, is that given the mission the president has assigned, which is degrade and destroy, that to be able to do that, some small number of American advisers, trainers, Special Forces and forward spotters, forward air controllers, are going to have to be in harm’s way.”
US President Obama said that the United States will not deploy ground forces in its fight against ISIS and noted the military operations will cover lots of areas without the intervention of ground troops.”
Gates noted he agrees with Obama’s assessment that the United States should wait until a new government in Iraq is in charge and then it will determine how to proceed.
It is worth noting, that UK former Prime Minister Tony Blair said earlier today, “The fight against ISIS fighters in northern Iraq and Syria could evolve over time and therefore involve the use of combat force.”
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