On Monday, President Obama didn’t have a strategy to train Iraqi forces in the fight against ISIS. In fact, at a press conference in Germany he made it clear that the he had “no complete plan.” That’s almost exactly the same thing he said ten months ago, when he admitted “we don’t have a strategy yet.” Just two days after this week’s admission, the president suddenly authorized up to 450 more troops to be sent to Iraq to advise Iraqi forces. Americans deserve better than knee-jerk foreign policy.
President Obama has not taken ISIS seriously from the beginning, famously calling them the “J.V. team” last September. ISIS is making gains in the Middle East, but disappointingly nothing has materialized from this president except excuses and procrastination. Despite repeated pushes for a concrete plan to deal with terrorists who wish Americans harm, the president has instead focused on negotiating a potentially disastrous nuclear deal with Iran. Instead of eliminating threats, he’s creating risks.
Each day he waits to solidify a plan, more Christians are captured and enslaved or beheaded, and more land is overtaken by terrorists who are committed to killing innocent Americans. The president needs to define what a victory against ISIS would entail and to explain his comprehensive plan to keep this evil from coming to our shores. Homeland security doesn’t begin at our border, and the American people deserve a leader in their commander in chief. The stakes are just too high to waiver on America’s security. The U.S. can’t lead from behind.
