Defeating ISIS and President's Syria Strategy
Floor Speech
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Mr. YOUNG of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of countless Hoosiers who are concerned for our troops. Like many Americans, we are increasingly dismayed by the Obama administration's incoherent strategy to defeat ISIS and protect American interests around the world.
As someone who served this country in the United States Marine Corps, and now as an elected Representative, I take seriously our responsibility here in Congress to demand war strategies that put American military personnel in a position to successfully complete their missions. This responsibility to our troops--to set them up for victory--has contributed to a new level of frustration felt by many of us over President Obama's disjointed foreign policy decisions in the Middle East.
Just last Friday, without any input from Congress, and absent any form of public debate, a White House spokesperson announced to the world that President Obama was authorizing the deployment of U.S. special operators directly into the fray in Syria.
Rather than hear it straight from our Commander in Chief, it took President Obama 3 full days to appear publicly and discuss his decision to escalate U.S. involvement and put more American boots on the ground.
On the one hand, I applaud the administration for any attempts to degrade the capabilities of ISIS and stabilize a war-torn Syria. However, it remains unclear what these brave special operators have been asked to accomplish. And, what strategy will enable a few dozen U.S. special operators to decisively drive ISIS from their stronghold in Raqqa?
To be clear, I know many of these valorous special operators personally. I am familiar with their remarkable ability to accomplish seemingly impossible missions, even with the odds stacked against them. But these warriors are not magicians. They are not a magic elixir capable of turning the tide of a 4-year, multifaceted civil war. They must be empowered to win.
President Obama tells us the U.S. mission is to degrade and defeat ISIS. But for that to succeed, he must articulate a broader strategy for the remaining 15 months of his tenure as Commander in Chief.
As it currently stands, limited airstrikes and a handful of special forces operators will not sufficiently empower the United States and our partners to initiate change in the region.
Unfortunately, I fear that this marks yet another instance of the President dictating U.S. defense policy by popular opinion. This is unfair to our men and women in uniform, their families, and it is unfair to all Americans.
My fervent hope is that during the close of this administration, a coherent, longer-term strategy is developed that empowers the greatest military in the world to protect American interests and to bring stability to a region desperately in need of peace.
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