Retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden on Friday elaborated on his "casual sex" analogy in describing President Barack Obama's sole reliance on using airstrikes to combat the Islamic State (ISIS) — saying it referred to America's commitment to destroying the terrorist group after it beheaded two American journalists.
"Our allies and our enemies view that as our limiting our commitment to this enterprise," Hayden, who later directed both the CIA and the National Security Agency, told
CNN's Jake Tapper regarding the airstrikes. "They're reporting today limited enthusiasm on the part of our allies to take up the role we said we would refuse to do.
"And people read the lack of commitment," Hayden said. "People don't question American power. What people need to be convinced of is American will."
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In criticizing Obama's ISIS speech from the White House on Wednesday, Hayden told reporters in a conference call organized by the Atlantic Council: "The reliance on air power has all of the attraction of casual sex: It seems to offer gratification but with very little commitment. We need to be wary of a strategy that puts emphasis on air power and air power alone."
Hayden's comments were reported by
U.S. News & World Report.
President Obama declared to the American people that the United States would "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State by relying heavily on expanded airstrikes in Iraq — and into Syria for the first time.
However, the president ruled out combat troops on the ground in either country, saying instead that he would send 475 U.S. soldiers into Iraq to aid the beleaguered security forces there.
Republicans widely slammed the speech for lacking details, with House Speaker
John Boehner saying on Thursday that "somebody's boots have to be on the ground."
ISIS beheaded U.S. journalists James Foley, 40, and Steven Sotloff, 31, and posted their executions on the Internet.
In his CNN interview, Hayden told Tapper that he supported intense airstrikes in both countries and U.S. Special Forces in critical strategic roles on the ground.
"We do need to have a presence on the ground," he said. "I actually think we need to embed inside the Iraqi and the Kurdish forces. We need tactical air-control partners.
"When we make these kinds of arbitrary distinctions, we get in the way of our own success," Hayden said.
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