McCain, Graham blame Obama for rise of ISIS

Two Republican senators are laying blame on President Obama for the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), saying he had the opportunity to act before conditions in Iraq and Syria descended into a crisis that “poses a direct threat to the United States.”

{mosads}”Time after time, President Obama had the opportunity to act when U.S. engagement could have made a decisive difference, and in pulling back from America’s traditional leadership role, he left a vacuum for other, more dangerous actors to fill,” Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wrote in National Review on Monday.

The senators said there were four decisions Obama made that stand out: not leaving behind a residual American force in Iraq 2011; rejecting his “entire senior national security team” to train and arm Syrian rebels sooner; pulling back from a decision to strike Syrian President Bashar Assad last September; and deciding not to order airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq last fall, when Iraqi forces first requested them.

“As a result, the situation in Iraq and Syria has descended into a crisis that poses a direct threat to the United States. Worse yet, our options for countering this threat are fewer and far worse than they were just a few years ago.”

McCain and Graham also argued for more robust military efforts against ISIS.

“After all, al-Qaeda has not been defeated in Somalia or Yemen, the two countries he cited as models for his campaign against ISIS. In the fight against radical Islamic extremism, failure is not an option,” they wrote.

“If we fail to learn from the mistakes of the past few years — if we fail to pursue an aggressive, realistic strategy for victory — the ISIS threat will only grow stronger,” they said.

The senators also addressed their message to fellow Republicans who are reluctant to take military action in Iraq.

“Those in our party who believe that ISIS’s rise is somehow a result of too much action by President Obama and our nation are either misinformed about world events or wedded to naïve ideologies that, if acted upon, would put America at even greater risk,” they wrote in the conservative publication.

Twelve Republican senators — John Barrasso (Wyo.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Dean Heller (Nev.), Mike Lee (Utah), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Rand Paul (Ky.), Jim Risch (Idaho), Pat Roberts (Kan.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) — last week voted against giving the president authority to train and arm moderate Syrian rebels to fight ISIS.