CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript: Islamic State Strategy

Interview

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KAYE: That was the president last night on "60 Minutes," placing the blame for ISIS' unexpected growth right on the shoulders of his director of national intelligence, James Clapper. You'll remember it was Clapper who told the "Washington Post" earlier this month earlier this "We underestimated ISIL and overestimated the fighting capability of the Iraqi army.

I didn't see the collapse of the Iraq security force in the north coming. I didn't see it."

To talk more about this, I'm joined by Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn. Good morning to you, Congresswoman. So the president admits to underestimating ISIS. You heard it on "60 Minutes." They have a plan in place, which you supported what more do you want them to do?

REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: Well, first of all, I think it's important that we acknowledge that the president says they learned a lesson, they underestimated and my hope is that if it took him six years to get to this point that he is going to be aggressive going forward.

Now, we also know that General Austin had briefed him that they need to have that residual force in Iraq and we're seeing now that they're going to leave a residual force in Afghanistan. All of that is good.

As we move forward, I think what we have to recognize is what we are hearing is people are saying this is not going to be a few weeks or a couple of days of airstrikes, this is going to take some time to deal with ISIS, ISIL, and Khorasan and all the al Qaeda splinter groups.

So my hope is -- and I agree with Senator Barasso and Speaker Boehner, Congress should go back to D.C. We should have a debate on this. We should be given those classified briefings because the American people want to make certain we take the steps to protect the homeland.

That they are free to go about their daily lives living their lives here in a country that is safe and secure and there is nothing more important right now than the security agenda and making certain that we do everything to protect this nation.

KAYE: Well, Congress seems to be very concerned right now, though, about getting the word out in the midterm election. So you're saying you're willing to go back?

BLACKBURN: Absolutely, I'm willing to go back. There is nothing more important than providing for the common defense and making certain that we are making wise decisions on that. We -- as I said, you look at what happened in Iraq and the president did not listen to the command team.

And I have to tell you, Randi, the American people aren't interested in blaming this one or blaming that one. What they want is the job done. We know that this is a threat, we know it's a growing threat, we know there are issues in Syria, we know there are issues in Iraq.

We are looking at the prospect of the southern border, the impact there, terrorist linked individuals coming across that southern border or the northern border. People want to make certain that they are safe and secure and able to live their lives and that we are going to protect those freedoms here.

KAYE: So the president certainly wants the job done, too, as he says. He says to win this fight, though, Iraqis have to hold up their end of the deal. So listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: With the allies, with their ground troops and if we do our job right and the Iraqis fight then over time our role can slow down and taper off. The Iraqis have to be willing to fight.

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KAYE: Now, Americans say they don't want a ground war and, in fact, a new CNN/ORC poll shows six out of ten oppose ground troops in the fight against ISIS. So do you think in terms of how this conflict can be won, can it be won without American boots on the ground?

BLACKBURN: We need all options on the table at this point in time. And the president needs to talk a little bit more about who all is going to be in the broad coalition. It's coming to us in bits and pieces and we welcome every country, every country that comes in.

KAYE: Are you opposed to boots on the ground or would you welcome it?

BLACKBURN: We need to leave all options on the table and there again it's inappropriate to say I'm for this or against this or we're going to do this or not do this and we don't need to have everybody in Congress and the senate trying to be a commander in chief.

We have one commander-in-chief, we have one Joint Chiefs of Staff, we need to be listening to those that are there and then taking the advice of the commanders in the field. As I said, go back to when we came out of Iraq and General Austin had recommended 24,000 troops be left in Iraq.

Having that presence around the globe, that makes sense to the American people. Because they have family members that are deployed all around the globe helping keep the peace. We are the ones that take the lead in keeping the peace. And we know much of that peace comes through strength.

So right now what you need is open minds, listening to the wisdom of those that are a part of the command team and then thoughtful, wise decisions being made with the end goal in mind, annihilate ISIS, keep the homeland safe. Get rid of this al Qaeda and this terrorist threat. Now, what the recipe is going to be I don't know.

KAYE: I understand you're keeping all your options open. We heard that loud and clear. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, thank you.

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