Romney: Obama ‘pulled his punches’ on ISIS

Mitt Romney on Monday accused President Obama of not seriously working to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) after terrorists struck Paris.

“It’s clear that he’s pulled his punches there,” Romney said during an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show when asked about Obama’s efforts regarding ISIS.

“It’s obvious that his tactics have not worked,” Romney continued, going after the Obama administration’s claim that ISIS has been “contained.”

“Paris is evidence of that. Libya is evidence of that. Lebanon, North Africa. We recognize that it has not worked,” Romney said of Obama’s strategy.

“ISIS has become stronger and they have metastasized. It’s a cancer that’s metastasized much more broadly in the world,” Romney said.

Obama vowed over the weekend to redouble efforts to defeat ISIS, which claimed responsibility for the attacks in Paris that left 129 dead and many more injured.

Romney, who penned an op-ed Sunday saying the U.S. must wage “war” to defeat ISIS, “not merely to harass it,” has called on the Obama administration to meet with members of NATO and U.S. allies in the Middle East to take out ISIS.

“If we don’t change our course and take this seriously and go to war against ISIS, we’re going to see what happened in Paris happen in the United States,” Romney said Monday.

Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee who briefly flirted with a third White House campaign early this year, was also asked if he would consider another bid in 2016.

“I’m not running, I’m not planning on running,” Romney said on the “Today” show.