The Islamic State (ISIS) forced President Barack Obama to change his stance as an anti-war president to respond to the growing threat posed by the radical militant organization, Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Obama, who lauded the efforts of his administration for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, was forced to send forces back into the battle against ISIS, Woodward said, adding that withdrawing forces from Afghanistan was slowing down as well.
"He switched on ISIS because this is a brutal, growing organization that has taken over, for instance, the northern Iraq city of Mosul, which is effectively their capital now.
"The idea that an organization can do this so quickly, you know, get so much attention in the world with these beheadings and burnings and so forth, this is something that has to be addressed. And, Obama (is), at least on this issue, no longer the anti-war president," Woodward said Wednesday.
The White House lacked a defined strategy to defeat ISIS, Woodward said, adding Obama's request to Congress for the Authorization for Use of Military Force would prompt a needed debate.
"I think everyone who looks at this realizes there is no strategy," he said. "There's going to be a giant, and there should be a giant debate on this. This is a shared power."
Woodward, on "Fox News Sunday," said that officials at the Pentagon were frustrated with administration officials who were "micromanaging the tactical situation (against ISIS) on a daily and weekly basis." He told "Morning Joe" the White House argued that "this is the president's war. He's the commander in chief. He needs to know what's going on."
"The White House says we want to be involved in that process. From the perspective of the Pentagon, what exactly are we supposed to do here? Get your finger out of our eyes, and let us do the job," he said.
Woodward said ISIS continued to be a "recruiting machine" that enticed a young person "who doesn't have a job or is looking for a life."
"They say, 'look, we're going to give you three things. We're going to give you a gun. We're going to give you a little bit of money. And, we're going to promise you a wife,'" he said.
"To somebody who has no moorings, no place to really live, no focus in their lives, that's very, very appealing. So, you are going to get growth of this movement, rather than shrinkage."
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