President Barack Obama's view that a full-blown war against the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Middle East would make new enemies for the United States is reminiscent of the strategy of George W. Bush, says Frederick Kagan, director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute.
"That was the argument that was used consistently from 2003 to 2006, ironically, by the Bush administration arguing against proposals to send more forces into Iraq," Kagan said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
"The funny thing is that when they actually did that in 2007, it turned out that when you send enough forces to work with the locals against these terrible groups and gain their trust, you don't further enflame them. You actually help them solve the problem."
Kagan, who was one of the intellectual architects of the successful "surge" strategy in Iraq, added:
"The degree to which President Obama is sort of unconsciously repeating … a lot of the rhetoric that the Bush administration was using during the years in which it was failing in Iraq is kind of remarkable considering that I'm pretty sure his intention is to do the opposite of what the Bush administration did."
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