President Barack Obama's plan to combat the Islamic State (ISIS) is designed to effectively use U.S. military power, Sen. Jack Reed told MSNBC's "Morning Joe," but initial victories could result in a "political and insurgency nightmare," as happened after the Iraq War.
Obama on Wednesday outlined his campaign to expand airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and to begin strikes against militants in Syria. The president said his administration is coordinating a coalition to include military forces within Iraq and Syria, as well as allied involvement to "degrade and ultimately destroy" ISIS.
"He wants to use our most effective power most effectively," the Rhode Island Democrat said Thursday. "My fear, even before we begin the invasion, it would show is that large conventional forces on the ground can win a big, quick, conventional victory, but then you're in the midst of a political and insurgency nightmare, which happened in Iraq."
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Since the plan involved working with Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Syrian rebels, Reed, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the United States will have to "be careful vetting these individuals, and we have to be careful what type of weapons we give them," but noted their involvement could "complement our advantages."
The president's plan is "consistent" with similar activities his administration has conducted "in Yemen, in Somalia, in Pakistan, where they've gone after and disrupted and destroyed the old al-Qaida network," Reed said, adding that Obama recognizes the need for U.S. military advantages of "air power, intelligence, drone operations, very targeted special operations."
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