WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans on Monday tried to appeal to U.S. voters jittery about terrorism by decrying President Barack Obama’s policies as half-hearted and suggesting that a U.S. ground war against the Islamic State may be inevitable.
The tough-talk is a political gamble. Obama was elected by war-weary voters in 2008 after promising to end the U.S. presence in Iraq. But U.S. sentiment can be fickle and the GOP’s message might appeal to many Americans much as President George Bush’s vow of “shock and awe” did following the Sept. 11 attacks.
Returning to the work week for the first time since the Paris attacks, Republicans took to U.S. television networks demanding a new military strategy.
“We can’t negotiate with this threat,” GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush told Fox News. “We should have no empathy for our enemies. We should destroy them.”
Added another GOP presidential hopeful, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: “I want to fight them in their backyard, so we don’t fight them in our backyard.”