Ryan fears 'armchair' Gen. Obama
Rep. Paul Ryan says he fears that President Barack Obama will play "armchair general" with the military and potentially interfere in the mission against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Appearing on CNN on Tuesday evening, the Wisconsin Republican said he supports the president's plan to combat ISIL, but is concerned that the president won't listen to the advice of military leaders, particularly if they were to advocate combat forces on the ground.
Asked whether Obama can keep his promise -- which he has made repeatedly -- that the U.S. will not have boots on the ground in the fight against ISIL, Ryan said: "I don't think so."
"No. 1, you should not telegraph to your enemies what you will not do," he continued. "No. 2, define the mission, give it to the military, and then let them do their jobs and don't armchair general these guys. That's my fear with the president. Look, I'm supportive with what the president has done, going into Syria and Iraq, but we need to see this thing through."
The congressman strongly suggested that the U.S. would likely need at least a small group of special forces fighting on the ground to minimize civilian casualties and work with Iraqi ground forces. Ryan also said Obama should come to Congress to receive authorization of the conflict and that he would vote for a resolution that authorized combat forces.
Still, Ryan clarified that he is not calling for a major ground war in the region. "This is not a 100,000 boots on the ground campaign," he said, saying it would be a much smaller and targeted force.
Ryan has previously criticized the president over Middle East policy, saying the full troop withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 created a security vacuum and that the U.S. should have armed the Syrian rebels earlier. But earlier this week, on "CBS This Morning," he said that the president is "doing the right thing now" against ISIL.
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