Should Obama Change His Approach to the Islamic State Group After Paris?

World Hot Topics Blog

Should Obama Change His Approach to the Islamic State Group After Paris?

The world is still reeling from deadly terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, and with fears of a similar assault in the U.S., some have criticized President Barack Obama for dismissing calls to scale up U.S. military efforts against the Islamic State group and for doubling down on his approach thus far.  World Hot Topics Blog

"We have always understood that this will be a long-term campaign," the president said, speaking at the G-20 summit in Turkey on Monday. "There will be setbacks and there will be successes. The terrible events in Paris were obviously a terrible and sickening setback." Obama also rejected calls to put ground troops in Syria, saying, "It's best that we don't shoot first and aim later." The president's deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes underscored Obama's approach, saying, "We don't believe U.S. troops are the answer to the problem." Other Obama advisers, The New York Times reports, say the administration is considering several response options, which include aiding allies in the region, more airstrikes and raids by special operations forces. World Hot Topics Blog

But Republicans are slamming the president's game plan against the Islamic State group and response to the Paris attacks. 2016 GOP hopeful and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush admonished Obama, saying he "doesn't understand we're at war." South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, also a Republican presidential candidate, advocated for U.S. ground troops in the region, telling CNN that "without American boots on the ground in Syria and Iraq, we're going to get hit here at home. And if you don't understand that, you're not ready to be commander-in-chief, in my view."

Even Hillary Clinton, the front-runner in the Democratic presidential race, has insisted the U.S. amp up its efforts to defeat the Islamic State group. While she agreed that boots on the ground are not the answer, she refuted Obama's assertion that the group had been "contained" and called for increased airstrikes and a no-fly zone in northern Syria. She also noted the 50 special operations soldiers Obama ordered to Syria last month have not left yet and must be "immediately" deployed.

The president, for his part, announced new counterterrorism efforts on Monday to prevent another tragedy like Paris. "We're streamlining the process by which we share intelligence and operational military information with France," he said at the G-20 summit, adding that "we need to be doing everything we can to protect against more attacks and protect our citizens." World Hot Topics Blog

So should Obama change his approach to the Islamic State group after the Paris attacks? Here's the Debate Club's take:

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http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-obama-change-his-approach-to-the-islamic-state-group-after-paris