Washington, DC – Tonight, Truman National Security Project Executive Director Mike Breen released the following statement in response to President Obama’s speech on ISIL this evening.
“As a community of post-9/11 leaders, we, like the majority of Americans are weary of the prospects of continued war and sacrifice in the Middle East. We also understand that ISIL presents a clear threat to the United States and our allies and must be stopped. America is uniquely suited with the military and diplomatic strength to empower regional and local partners to determine a secure and prosperous future in the Middle East. Tonight the President laid out a strategy that would keep America and our allies safe, without a long-term commitment to an uncertain ground war.
I support the President’s decision tonight to wage a sustained campaign to degrade and destroy ISIL. By rallying our allies and bringing our own unique capabilities to bear, we can and must lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.
US military force alone cannot solve this problem, however. The President’s strategy rightly incorporates a wide range of counterterrorism capabilities, including America's unmatched air power. Importantly, it also includes humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations, and support for partner forces on the ground. But it is those partner forces that must unite to defeat ISIL on the ground - not American combat troops. At the end of the day, the future of Syria – as with Iraq - must be determined by, with, and for its people. This must be the ultimate objective of our strategy."
