Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Monday it will take 500,000 American troops to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS.)
Appearing on Fox News Channel's
"The Kelly File" Monday, Paul said his Republican presidential rivals may think it's a good idea to try to oust Syrian President Basher Assad, but regime change will only invite ISIS to fill the void as it is doing in Libya.
"If you want to send half-a-million of Americans' sons and daughters back over there, we can militarily defeat ISIS," Paul said.
"The problem is, if you militarily defeat ISIS, my fear is, they slither off and another generation arises," he said. "I think ultimately the defeat has to come from Sunni Muslims, because they're not going to accept Americans there, even Shiite Muslims there. … That's when you'll get the long-lasting peace. "
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