President Barack Obama's airdrops of supplies to refugees and limited airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq are only an attempt to avoid bad press and don't go far enough in stamping out the dangerous terrorist group, says Sen. Lindsey Graham.
"He's trying to avoid a bad news story on his watch," the South Carolina Republican said on "Fox News Sunday."
Obama has said the United States cannot take offensive action until there is an inclusive government in Baghdad, but Graham called that "inaccurate."
Graham has been calling for American action in both Syria and Iraq and said he takes the threat serious of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which says it intends to
raise "the flag of Allah" over the White House.
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"I think of an American city in flames because of the terrorists' ability to operate in Syria and Iraq," Graham said.
"There's no political reconciliation in Baghdad going to protect the American homeland," he said. "This commander-in-chief has no strategy, he has no vision."
The directors of National Security, the FBI and Homeland Security have said ISIS is a direct threat to the United States, and hundreds of Americans and Europeans trained there. That raises fears they can return to the West, including the United States, to launch terror attacks.
Graham said Obama is failing to act because he entered office "hell-bent" on getting troops out of Iraq and does not want to send them back.
He was advised three years ago by his national security team to get engaged in Syria and his military commanders wanted a small amount of troops left behind in Iraq, Graham noted.
"He said no."
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