Hillary Clinton Opposed to US Combat Troops in Iraq and Syria
“I think it gives ISIS a new recruitment tool,” she says.
— -- Hillary Clinton "cannot conceive" of any possible situation that would require U.S. combat troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria, she said on "CBS This Morning."
"I don't think it's the smartest way to go after ISIS," Clinton said today. "I think it gives ISIS a new recruitment tool if we get back into the fight.
"We're not putting American combat troops back into Syria or Iraq. We are not going to do that," she told show co-host Charlie Rose.
It should be a "non-starter" because it wouldn't do anything to further the defeat of ISIS, she added.
Clinton's position is similar to that of President Obama, who has sent U.S. Special Forces but is resistant to deploying combat troops.
GOP candidate Jeb Bush, who is calling for more troops on the ground, tweeted his response shortly after the Clinton interview aired:
Clinton also emphasized the need to cooperate with the Russians, who are proponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, and were recently victimized by ISIS when a bomb was planted on a Russian-bound plane from Sharm el Sheikh, killing 224 people.
Although she called for a no-fly zone over Syria, Clinton said the Russians would need to be informed, even if they aren’t participating. “I want them at the table,” she added.
Clinton also emphasized that the focus should be on defeating ISIS rather than Assad, noting that she doesn't think the latter is attainable.
"Right now we're not going to see a military defeat of Assad,” she said. “It's not going to happen.”