President Barack Obama has been projecting "ambiguity" about the battle against the Islamic State (ISIS), said Rep. Paul Ryan, who stressed the effort was too important not to be clear on the resolve of the United States against the terrorist organization.
"He'll say something good on a Tuesday, and then on a Wednesday, he'll walk it back. So, I worry about that. This is war. He'll have to see this through. We have to have resolve. I think sometimes there's some politically correct things that get mixed up in his words that project ambiguity, and we cannot let that happen in a conflict like this," the Wisconsin Republican and 2012 vice presidential candidate told "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday.
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Ryan explained he was "dumbfounded" when he learned of the report by the investigative research organization Government Accountability Institute that stated Obama attended
less than half of his presidential daily briefings since taking office in 2009.
"You need to get from your intelligence community, the defense community, especially when we have troops in harm's way, what's going on," he said. "The primary job of the commander in chief is to keep the country safe."
Republicans were glad that Obama was "taking the fight to ISIS" with the airstrikes the U.S. has been conducting with allies in Iraq and Syria, Ryan said, but added he worried about the involvement by the president in the effort.
"I worry he's going to nickel and dime and micromanage the military, be an armchair general," Ryan said. "Give the military the mission, and then stand out of their way and let them do their job."
There were also concerns for Obama's tendency to announce ahead of time what actions the U.S. would or would not take in the campaign against ISIS.
"You never tell your enemy what you will not do. You don't telegraph your punches. And, I worry that that's what he's doing from now on," he said.
It was important for Obama to "communicate with the country" about the effort against ISIS, Ryan said.
"The commander in chief needs to bring the American people along with the fight and show them we're going to have the resolve to see this through," he said.
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