Charlie Rangel blasts President Obama for sending more troops to Iraq
theGRIO REPORT - New York Rep. Charlie Rangel had some strong words on Saturday regarding the President’s plans to put 1,500 American troops back in Iraq...
New York Rep. Charles Rangel had some strong words on Saturday regarding the President’s plans to put 1,500 American troops back in Iraq.
The troops will be deployed in an effort to better train Iraqi forces to fight against attacks from ISIS militants.
Rangel said, “The whole theory that we can say, ‘We’re not at war because there’s no boots on the ground,’ is an insulting thing to say.”
Rangel also added that, “[ISIS has] not declared any formal war against the U.S.”
Discussions about how to deal with the militant group have ramped up following the well-publicized beheadings of U.S. citizens Steven Sotloff and James Foley at the hands of ISIS.
Rangel was particularly concerned with the President’s insistence that the nation was no longer at war.
He said, “The Congress is guilty of allowing this to happen. If indeed our national security is threatened, then Congress should debate it … Congress should vote on it. There should be a universal draft. And we should set aside money or more taxes to pay for it. But how in the hell we can go to the funerals, and go further into debt, and say, ‘We’re not at war,’ challenges common sense.”
In an interview on Sunday morning’s Face the Nation, Obama reiterated that he wouldn’t rule out putting more troops on the ground in order to combat the Islamic State, saying, “You know, as commander-in-chief I’m never going to say never.”
