In a sign that he is seriously considering a run for president, Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he is studying up on foreign policy and making his views known on the urgency of tackling the Islamic State threat.
"You will not solve this problem with only air power," Kasich told The Washington Post as he prepared for a trip to the early-voting state of South Carolina. "There needs to be a coalition of NATO, Arab states, and ultimately some boots on the ground to stop the advancement of that group."
He said that the West and the Arab world "need to get serious about stopping this kind of radicalism. If not, it will continue to spread and just bombing is imposing the status quo at best."
Kasich emphasized that he backs targeted, multinational strikes instead of a prolonged war against Iraq-based jihadists.
He said dealing with the ISIS threat "is probably something that can be addressed without an extended affair and without nation-building or any of that."
Kasich's comments appear to place him somewhere in the middle of the Republican Party when it comes to U.S. involvement abroad, in between strong supporters like Arizona Sen. John McCain and skeptics like Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
On Wednesday, he is scheduled to arrive in South Carolina, home to
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is reportedly considering a run for president next year. Like his close political ally McCain, Graham favors a robust U.S. role abroad and is sharply critical of the Obama administration's handling of foreign policy.
In his interview with the Post, Kasich noted that during his 18 years in the House of Representatives, he served on the Armed Services Committee, "dealing largely with military operations, as well as how you use them and when you use them."
The governor added that in recent weeks, he has discussed foreign policy with veteran Washington hands like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania congressman Robert Walker, among others.
Kasich (not a consistent backer of increased Pentagon spending during his nine terms in Congress) said he understands the concerns some Republicans have about some defense projects.
Kasich noted that more than 30 years ago he voted against sending U.S. Marines to Lebanon for what turned out to be an ill-fated peacekeeping mission.
After Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, however, Kasich voted for President George H.W. Bush's plan to send troops to drive Iraqi forces out of that country.
"I don't like the idea of getting involved in civil wars and I've always been a military reformer who is interested in special forces and using technology in better ways," Kasich said.
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