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How did Republicans describe President Barack Obama’s ISIS strategy at the most recent presidential primary debate in Las Vegas? "Wrong," "reckless," "left us unsafe," "leads from behind" and "feckless weakling."
Behind that rhetoric, however, the proposals offered by the GOP field contain little detail or largely follow the White House’s plan.
The biggest issue is how few specifics the Republican candidates offer on how they would fight ISIS, the terrorist group that currently occupies territory in Syria and Iraq.
"When no one defines their terms, deals with key issues like where and when, or changes in land forces, then no one knows how much they agree or differ," said Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Christopher Preble, a defense and foreign policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, noted that while it’s easy to disparage Obama’s policies, the critics aren’t offering anything different.
"You’d expect them to stake out positions that are obviously hawkish — large number of troops, more involvement, limited amount of negotiations — but I haven't seen that, to be very honest," Preble said.
On ground troops and international cooperation
Virtually every Republican who participated in the debate has voiced general support for ground troops in the region, with the notable exception of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. But few have articulated how the deployment would differ from Obama’s current use of U.S. troops. Currently, there are 50 special ops but no combat troops in Syria and a task force of 200 servicemen, in addition to the 3,500 troops already in Iraq.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has advocated for increasing the number already stationed, but hasn’t given specific numbers. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has called for 6,500 additional troops in Iraq.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham had the most hawkish position, advocating for 10,000 troops in Syria as part of a larger regional force. But Graham dropped out of the race on Monday.
To our knowledge, while many have called for "boots on the ground," no other candidate has specified where these boots should be stationed or how many pairs are needed.
Similarly, every one of the candidates has called for working with a coalition of Western and Arab countries and arming Kurdish and other tribal forces fighting ISIS.
The United States has been working with a multinational coalition since 2014 and indirectly arming the Kurds as well.
On the air war
Since the air war against ISIS began in August 2014, the U.S.-led coalition has launched 9,011 airstrikes against ISIS, targeting weapons, checkpoints, buildings and positions, personnel, vehicles and oil assets.
All of the GOP candidates support this campaign, though some have criticized it for being limited. For example, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump has said he’d "bomb the ---- out of" ISIS while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz repeats a call to "carpet bomb them into oblivion."
Trump has offered no specifics on what this would look like, besides targeting oil controlled by ISIS — which is already happening. Cruz, for his part, incorrectly defines "carpet bombing" as "embedding special forces" to select discrete targets — which "we are already doing," military historian Lance Janda told PolitiFact.
The notable policy option where the GOP candidates break with Obama’s plan is on the establishment of a no-fly zone in Syria (in which unauthorized aircraft are prohibited from entering). The Republicans as well as Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton are for it, while Obama has opposed it as unsustainable and unrealistic.
To establish a no-fly zone, the United States would have to play a central role in its management and upkeep, escalating its role in the Syrian civil war, writes Karl Mueller, an analyst with the global policy think tank the RAND Corporation. Yet many candidates who support a no-fly zone also oppose intervention in the Syrian civil war, at least for the time being.
On nonmilitary measures
The differences between the Republican field and Obama are more stark when it comes to humanitarian assistance and overall rhetoric.
The administration announced that it will accept at least 10,000 Syrian refugees next year. Virtually all of the candidates oppose this, citing security concerns. Bush and Cruz want to make an exception for Christian refugees, while the campaigns for Paul and Graham emphasized that the ban would be temporary.
The GOP field also diverges from Obama in rhetoric, with the Republicans repeatedly using the term "radical Islamic terrorism." Obama avoids using the words as a strategy to isolate the group. Obama says he doesn’t want to feed the narrative of the United States being "at war with Islam."
The candidates’ ISIS strategies, in one chart
Here’s a chart laying out the proposals we found from the candidates. Bold text reflects a position that is different from Obama’s.
Ground troops¹
Air war
International cooperation
Nonmilitary measures
Donald Trump (R)
•Supports ground troops in the region¹
•Continue airstrikes
•Target oil assets
•Opposes accepting Syrian refugees
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam"
•Supports an unspecified number of special ops troops in the region
•Expand airstrikes
•Supports a no-fly zone
•Supports safe zones in Syria
•Work with a multinational coalition
•Arm and support Kurdish and Sunni tribal forces²
•Opposes accepting Syrian refugees
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam"
•Supports invoking Article 5³
•Opposes ground troops in the region⁴
•Expand airstrikes and targets
•Include Jordan and Egypt in the multinational coalition⁵
•Arm and support Kurdish and Peshmerga forces²
•Supports accepting some Syrian refugees⁶
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam"
•Supports special ops troops in the region¹
•Continue airstrikes
•Target oil assets
•Supports a no-fly zone
•Supports safe zones
•Include Jordan and Egypt in the multinational coalition⁵
•Arm and support Kurdish and Sunni tribal forces²
•Opposes accepting Syrian refugees
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam"
•Supports declaring war on ISIS³
•Increase ground troops in the region
•Continue airstrikes
•Supports a no-fly zone in Syria
•Supports safe zones in Syria
•Work with a multinational coalition
•Arm and support Kurdish and Iraqi forces²
•Supports accepting some Syrian refugees⁶
•Supports declaring war³
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam"
•Opposes ground troops in the region
•Supports special ops troops in the region
•Continue airstrikes
•Supports a no-fly zone in Syria
•Work with a multinational coalition
•Arm and support Kurdish forces²
•Opposes accepting Syrian refugees
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam"
•Supports ground troops in the region¹
•Supports a no-fly zone
•Supports safe zones in Syria
•Work with a multinational coalition
•Opposes accepting Syrian refugees
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam
•Supports ground troops in the region¹
•Continue airstrikes
•Supports a no-fly zone
•Work with a multinational coalition
•Arm and support Kurdish forces²
•Opposes accepting Syrian refugees
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam"
• Supports invoking Article 5³
•Opposes combat troops in Syria⁷
•Opposes special troops in Syria
•Opposes combat troops in Iraq
•Continue airstrikes
•Opposes a no-fly zone
•Arm and support Kurdish forces²
•Opposes accepting Syrian refugees⁸
•Supports invoking Article 5³
•Supports declaring war³
•Supports ground troops in the region¹
•Continue airstrikes
•Work with a multinational coalition
•Arm and support Kurdish forces²
•Opposes accepting Syrian refugees
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam"
Rick Santorum (R)
•Station 10,000 troops in Iraq
•Arm and support Kurdish forces²
•Opposes accepting Syrian refugees
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam"
George Pataki (R)
•Supports ground troops in the region¹
•Work with a multinational coalition
•Opposes accepting Syrian refugees
•Supports using phrases like "radical Islam"
•Opposes combat troops in Syria
•Supports special troops in Syria
• Opposes more combat troops in Iraq
•Expand airstrikes and targets
•Supports a no-fly zone in Syria
•Supports safe zones in Syria
•Work with a multinational coalition
• Arm and support Kurdish forces²
•Supports accepting Syrian refugees
•Rejects using phrases like "radical Islam"
•Supports declaring war³
•Opposes combat troops in Syria
•Opposes special troops in Syria
•Opposes combat troops in Iraq
•Continue airstrikes
•Opposes a no-fly zone
•Work with a multinational coalition
•Supports accepting Syrian refugees
•Rejects using phrases like "radical Islam"
Martin O’Malley (D)
•Opposes combat troops in Syria
•Supports special troops in Syria
•Opposes more combat troops in Iraq
•Continue airstrikes
•Opposes a no-fly zone
•Work with a multinational coalition
•Supports accepting Syrian refugees
•Rejects using phrases like "radical Islam"
• Supports declaring war³
- Notes
- 1. Some candidates have not offered details on how the number and location deployed will differ from Obama’s use of ground troops.
- 2. The Obama administration has been indirectly arming Kurdish forces through the Iraqi government. The United States is legally prohibited from directly arming the group, which is not a fully independent nation.
- 3. Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an attack on any one member country shall be considered an attack on all. Neither France, which declared war on ISIS following the Paris attacks, nor the United States has yet to invoke it. Obama asked Congress to formally authorize the war on ISIS in February 2015, but Congress rejected it.
- 4. Cruz’s comments suggest that he opposes deploying combat troops in the region. A spokesperson for his campaign told PolitiFact he "has not taken anything off the table" regarding ground troops, but "we do need to maximize other resources before we put servicemen and women in harm's way."
- 5. Cruz and Carson have specifically mentioned Jordan and Egypt as countries that should be part of the global coalition against ISIS. Those two countries, however, have expressed no interest in joining.
- 6. Cruz and Bush support accepting Christian refugees fleeing from Syria.
- 7. Paul opposes sending ground troops into the region period, but said if Congress declared war, he’d send in "overwhelming force."
- 8. The Paul and Graham campaigns emphasized that the ban would be temporary.
Our Sources
Email interview with Anthony Cordesman, national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Dec. 14, 2015
Interview with Christopher Preble, defense and foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute, Dec. 14, 2015
Washington Post, "New Iraq task force expands direct U.S. role in battle against Islamic State," Dec. 1, 2015
PolitiFact, "Marco Rubio largely right that only 3 or 4 countries are taking significant military shots at ISIS," Dec. 13, 2015
PolitiFact, "Ted Cruz says Obama refuses to directly arm Kurds in ISIS fight." Feb. 8, 2015
Airwars.org, accessed Dec. 21, 2015
PolitiFact, "Ted Cruz misquotes CIA official, makes false claim on bombing ISIS oil and climate change," Dec. 14, 2015
PolitiFact, "Ted Cruz misfires on definition of 'carpet bombing' in GOP debate," Dec. 16, 2015
RAND Corporation, "A No-Fly Zone Over Syria: Q&A with Karl Mueller," Oct. 15, 2015
PolitiFact, "PolitiFact Sheet: 5 questions about Syrian refugees," Nov. 19, 2015
PolitiFact, ""War of words: The fight over 'radical Islamic terrorism'," Dec. 11, 2015
NBC, "Trump Open to Ground Troops in Syria, Expands on Safe Zone Idea," Nov. 18, 2015
MarcoRubio.Com, "Read Marco’s Plan to Defeat ISIS,"
U.S. Senator for Texas Ted Cruz, "Sen. Ted Cruz: Securing America’s Freedom: Protect, Defend, and Champion American Liberties Through a Strong National Defense," Dec. 10, 2015
Email interview with Catherine Frazier, spokesperson for Ted Cruz, Dec. 14, 2015
BenCarson.Com, "Dr. Ben Carson Outlines Plan to Protect America; Calls for Declaration of War Against ISIS," Dec. 15, 2015
Email interview with Doug Watts, spokesperson for Ben Carson, Dec. 16, 2015
C-SPAN, "Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush Remarks on Military Readiness," Nov. 18, 2015
Breitbart, "Fiorina: US Shouldn’t Put Boots on the Ground Against ISIS ‘Yet’," Nov. 19, 2015
Email interview with Anna Epstein, spokesperson for Carly Fiorina, Dec. 16, 2015
Council on Foreign Relations, "A Conversation With Governor Chris Christie," Nov. 24, 2015
TIME, "John Kasich: We Need Boots on the Ground to Defeat ISIS," Nov. 18, 2015
Council on Foreign Relations, "A Conversation With John Kasich," Dec. 9, 2015
Email and phone interview with Rob Nichols, spokesperson for John Kasich, Dec. 21, 2015
TIME, "Rand Paul: Punish Those Who Fund ISIS," Nov. 17, 2015
Email interview with Eleanor May, spokesperson for Rand Paul, Dec. 16, 2016
Breitbart, "Mike Huckabee: Build a Coalition to ‘Bomb the Absolute Stink’ out of ISIS, Follow With Troops," Nov. 14, 2015
LindseyGraham.Com, "Defeat Forces of Radical Islam"
Email interview with Brittany Bramell, spokesperson for Lindsey Graham, Dec. 16, 2016
CNN, "How Republican candidates would respond to ISIS," Nov. 16, 2015
Hillary Clinton, "Transcript: Read Hillary Clinton’s Speech on Fighting ISIS," Nov. 19, 2015
BernieSanders.Com, "Senator Bernie Sanders on Democratic Socialism in the United States," Nov. 19, 2015
Associated Press, "Republicans assail Obama on ISIS _ despite similarities," Dec. 7, 2015
New York Times, "After San Bernardino Attack, Republican Candidates Talk ‘War’" Dec. 5, 2015
New York Times, "Ted ‘Carpet-Bomb’ Cruz," Dec. 11, 2015
USA Today, "On ISIL, rhetoric is biggest divide between Obama, GOP candidates," Dec. 13, 2015
New York Times, "Presidential Candidates on Syrian No-Fly Zone," Oct. 19, 2015
NPR, "What The 2016 Candidates Would Do About ISIS, In One Chart," Nov. 20, 2015