Senate Democrats who are facing re-election races in the midterms have denounced President Barack Obama for not having a strategy on how to handle the increasing threat from the Islamic State in the Middle East.
Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota has written to Attorney General Eric Holder, saying he was “troubled” that the administration is struggling to find a military solution to the terror organization, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
Following Obama’s statement that he doesn’t yet have a strategy on air strikes in Syria,
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia called on the White House to come up with a comprehensive plan to eradicate the jihadist extremists.
And
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire ripped into Obama’s remarks that he plans to turn ISIS into a “manageable problem,” Politico reported.
In his letter to Holder, Franken wrote, “I was troubled by the president’s recent suggestion that the administration has not yet developed a comprehensive strategy to address the growing threat of ISIL’s activities in Syria.
“One American who went to high school in Minnesota has been confirmed to have been killed in Syria while fighting with ISIL, and others have traveled there to fight with ISIL as well. We must act diligently and responsibly to prevent Americans from taking up arms with ISIL, or from reentering if they do.”
Franken added, “The Justice Department should focus its research and efforts in places where terrorism recruitment efforts may be happening at higher rates, such as Minnesota. In addition, the Justice Department should co-ordinate with the State Department and Homeland Security to prevent Americans from traveling abroad to join forces with ISIL.”
Following the “barbaric” beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, Warner released a statement on Wednesday urging the White House to “articulate” a strategy to deal with the danger posed by the brutal Islamic State.
“I urge the Administration to come to Congress with a clear strategy and political and military options for eliminating the ISIL threat,” Warner wrote.
“The United States should not take any military options off the table, because stopping ISIL is in the national security and foreign policy interests of the U.S. and our European allies. We need to see the Iraqis, other partners across the region, and our European allies in NATO stand together against the ISIL threat.”
Shaheen slammed Obama for stating that the U.S. plans to turn the thousands of bloodthirsty ISIS fighters into a “manageable problem,” while also praising Vice President Joe Biden for saying that “we will follow them to the gates of hell until they are brought to justice."
On Twitter, Shaheen said, "Do not believe ISIL is 'manageable,' agree these terrorists must be chased to the 'gates of hell.'"
Republican have criticized
Obama’s recent statements on ISIS and called on him to come up with a strategy to handle the militants who have captured vast portions of Syria and Iraq as they attempt to turn the region into a caliphate.
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