President Obama is faced criticism on Sunday from Grand Old Party (Republican) candidates on his plan to deploy 50 Special Operations troops in Syria to fight Islamic terror group.
Candidate and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham stated on “Fox News Sunday.” “Sending 50 American Special Forces into Syria in the eyes of ISIL shows that Obama is not all in, it is a sign of weakness to ISIL. They have sized Obama up and they think he’s weak.”
Defense hawk and Armed Services Committee member, Graham is in favor for sending more troops and said that how such an insignificant group will win the fight to destroy the Islamic State, whose is occupying large swatches of Iraq and Syria.
He also expressed that he doesn’t seem that there is a possibility of a clash between U.S. forces and Russian forces in Syria, sent to protect the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
On Friday The White House’s declaration to deploy the non-combat troops comes almost two years after Obama promised that he would not put “American boots on the ground in Syria.”
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest claimed that there is no change in strategy, they are just intensifying the president’s plan in order to help local forces in fighting the terror group.
Another Republican presidential candidate, Ben Carson said on Sunday that he supports Obama’s plan but that it is not enough.
He told ABC’s “This Week.”, “I think that’s a move in the right direction … certainly in terms of helping to guide what the Air Force is doing, but I think that that’s only a small part of it. We need to have a much bigger plan when it comes to battling the global jihadist because they have big ideals.”
Carson, a first-time candidate, said that the United States should establish a “no-fly” zone in the region. He also said that if elected he would respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts in Syria.
GOP contender Donald Trump also called Obama’s plan half-measured move.
Trump told CNN before a campaign stop in Norfolk, Va, “I think we have a president who just doesn’t know what he’s doing, you either do it or you don’t do it.”
