An armed Shi'ite volunteer from the Mehdi Army
An armed Shi'ite volunteer from the Mehdi Army, loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, clashes with Islamic State (IS) militants outside the city of Tikrit September 8, 2014. Picture taken September 8, 2014.REUTERS/Stringer Reuters/Stringer

U.S Sen. Jim Inhofe made some scathing remarks on President Obama's policy of "no boots on the ground" strategy to combat ISIS. He was speaking at the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on U.S Policy Towards Iraq and Syria.

"We already have boots on the ground," Sen. Inhofe remarked, countering President Obama's stated policy on the issue. The senator further said that the President's claims were "an insult to the men and women in Iraq today."

President Obama had to clarify his position on allowing U.S troops taking up combat roles after General Martin E. Dempsey said that he may recommend sending U.S troops to assist the Iraqi forces. The ground forces would help in targeting specific ISIS targets, the general had said.

Senator Inhofe did not suggest sending U.S troops on combat duty but was critical of President Obama for ruling out the possibility altogether. He said that the notion of the country being safer was not true but the notion did support the President's political narrative.

According to the senator, President Obama failed to recognize the seriousness of the threat posed by the terrorist organization ISIS. The senator appreciated Secretary Hagel's assessment of the situation when he had observed that the terrorist organization posed "an imminent threat" to U.S interests in Iraq and elsewhere.

Senator Inhofe highlighted the ISIS fighting capabilities and compared them to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, emphasising the increased threat posed by the former. He stated that ISIS had 35,000 fighters and growing, some of them from western countries including the U.S.

Comparing ISIS tactics to that of Al-Qaeda, the senator said that the newly rising terrorist organisation was holding and governing a large territory. This is different from the terror organisation that used to be run by Osama Bin Laden, which chose to hide in caves.

ISIS has an army and uses traditional military tactics, using tanks, artillery and other heavy war machinery coupled with terrorist tactics. Senator Inhofe stated that ISIS makes more than $3 million every day and was very close for comfort geographically to U.S allies in Europe.

Senator Inhofe also found fault with President Obama for cutting the military budget while expecting it to perform at multiple fronts. The U.S military is expected to support its European allies against Russia, successfully hand over the reins of security to the Afghanistan government and respond to the deadly Ebola outbreak in Africa.

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