Scott Walker: Open to 'Boots on Ground' Against ISIS

Lindsey Graham wants 10K boots on ground in Syria
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2015 1:10 PM CST
Scott Walker: Open to 'Boots on Ground' Against ISIS
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at the American Action Forum in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Scott Walker thinks the United States should "aggressively ... take the fight to ISIS and any other radical Islamic terrorist in and around the world," says the Wisconsin governor, who the AP notes is enjoying a bit of 2016 buzz lately. Questioned by ABC News' Martha Raddatz as to whether he didn't think that "2,000 airstrikes is taking it to ISIS in Syria and Iraq," Walker responded: "We have go beyond just aggressive air strikes. We have to look at other surgical methods. And ultimately, we have to be prepared to put boots on the ground if that’s what it takes." Pressed further if that meant US troops in Syria, he conceded, "I don't think that is an immediate plan ... (but) I would not rule anything out." The entire transcript is here. (Meanwhile, the Dropkick Murphys are definitely not fans of Walker using their music.)

Elsewhere on your Sunday talk show dial:

  • Lindsey Graham definitely wants boots on the ground: Specifically, 10,000 of them to stop ISIS in Syria. And "we cannot successfully defeat (ISIS) on the ground in Syria with the Free Syrian Army and regional coalitions of Arab nations until you deal with Assad because he will kill anybody that comes in there that tries to defeat (ISIS)."
  • Walker on 2016: He stopped short of saying he was running, notes the Hill, but said: "After three elections for governor in four years in a state that hasn’t gone Republican since 1984 for president, I wouldn’t bet against me on anything." He said Mitt Romney's decision not to run acknowledged a need for "new, fresh leadership with big, bold ideas."
  • Paul Ryan on Romney's decision: "It’s bittersweet to me," Ryan said. "I was going to support Mitt whatever it is he decided to do. Country first. He did what he thought was right for the country."
  • John McCain on 2016: "There is no one in America that knows better than Lindsey Graham the threats to this country."
  • Graham on 2016: "I believe I'm the best qualified of anybody on our side of the aisle to offer an alternative to a failed foreign policy of Barack Obama."
Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee shared his thoughts on gay marriage. (More Scott Walker stories.)

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