NRO:
After hearing the Pentagon’s testimony in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Senator Jim Inhofe is more convinced than ever that U.S. “boots on the ground” will end up being used to confront the Islamic State — and he’s accusing President Obama of “flat not telling the truth” about the matter, including the fact that there are already special forces on the ground.
Inhofe spoke just hours after the hearing with CNN’s Jake Tapper, who asked the Oklahoma Republican how he interpreted General Martin Dempsey’s admission that U.S. combat troops may be sent to fight against the Islamic State should air strikes prove insufficient.
“Well first of all, the president’s just flat not telling the truth,” Inhofe charged. “We already have boots on the ground there. He knows we’re going to have to have boots on the ground. Let’s just go ahead and face it and admit. We’re in a war. And you didn’t win a war unless you’re out there fighting.”
“I did ask the question — and I hope that you took note of that, a lot of people did — is that if we have guys doing air missions and they’re shot down, are we going to have troops down there to save these guys?” Inhofe continued. “And [Dempsey] said, ‘Yes we will.’ So I think he made it very clear that the president is just making that statement for political purposes.”