John McCain Calls for 10,000 Ground Troops in Syria to Defeat ISIS

Sen. John McCain wants 10,000 U.S. ground troops in Syria to crush the Islamic State — and blames President Barack Obama's lack of leadership and strategy for the "phenomena of ISIS."

In an interview with with France 24 television on Thursday, the Arizona Republican, and 2008 GOP presidential nominee, said the aim of American boots on the ground would be to join soldiers from Arab countries, NATO countries "and even France" to defeat ISIS.

He also refused to blame French security forces for the ISIS attacks that killed 129 people in Paris last week.

"What I can put the blame on is the United States of America's lack of leadership that should have seen what this movement is all about," McCain said. "When we left Iraq there was no such thing as 'ISIS.'"

He called the Islamic State "the godchild of al-Qaida" and the "godchild" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and when pressed if he still envisioned boots on the ground in Syria, he replied, "Exactly." Adding:

"About 10,000 Americans, with a coalition of other Arab countries, hopefully maybe NATO countries, maybe even France," McCain said.

McCain did not specify if he would like those troops to be used against Assad as well.

Opposition to both the Assad government and the Islamic State, warring factions, is the current policy of both the Obama administration and most of the Republican Party, although President Obama has called for a political solution to end Assad's regime, not a military one, the Washington Examiner, which posted the interview, reports.

There has been a growing call for a stepped-up plan against ISIS after the Paris attacks, including from GOP presidential candidates like Jeb Bush.

"I understand [French] President [Francois] Hollande and the French people's reaction to this," McCain said. "It is a a form of warfare. But it's a different kind of warfare. I think when you kill citizens of a country and commit acts of terror, then you can only describe it as war."

The Washington Examiner notes McCain was a champion of the 2007 "surge" strategy in Iraq, which deployed 20,000 additional ground troops to the war-torn country.

And the lawmaker has been calling for more ground forces in the Middle East since last February, when he also mentioned 10,000 troops, but at that time, in Iraq.

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