President Barack Obama's request for a new authorization for use of military force against the Islamic State (ISIS) wouldn't allow for the group's defeat, says retired Gen. Jack Keane.
"To constrain the use of a ground force and not to be permitted to be used in any shape, form or manner means that by definition we're not going to defeat ISIS, so it doesn't make much sense," Keane said Wednesday on Fox News Channel's
"The Kelly File."
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Obama has come under fire for saying in his request that ground forces could not be used and also for limiting the authorization to three years. Critics say Obama's AUMF would telegraph to the enemy what the United States is not willing to do, and gives an end date.
"We have two other authorizations that are standing right now today. One from 2001, one from 2002, and they don't have anything like this in them," Keane said. He said the three-year deadline, after which the AUMF could be extended, would be seen by ISIS as a "lack of resolve and commitment" by the United States.
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"The facts are, to defeat Isis it's widely recognized that the only way you can defeat Isis is with a decisive ground force victory in Iraq and also in Syria," Keane said.
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