Bush calls for U.S.-led coalition to wage war on ISIS
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican candidate for president, called for a stepped-up U.S. combat role against the forces of the Islamic State, in a speech at The Citadel military school in South Carolina.
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Jeb Bush called for a U.S.-led coalition to use "overwhelming force" to defeat the Islamic State during a speech Wednesday at The Citadel, the military college of South Carolina.
The national-security speech was scheduled to dwell on the former Florida governor's plans for rebuilding the strength of the U.S. military, but it was retooled following last week's terrorist attacks in Paris to encompass his view of the proper strategy to use against ISIS.
"Here is the truth you will not hear from our president," Bush said, speaking to several hundred gray-clad cadets and invited guests.
The size and scope of the U.S. ground effort, he said, would be determined in consultation with military commanders. Bush added that the "bulk" of ground troops should come from "local forces" with which the United States has built relationships.
"The fate of millions, the security of our own people, and the cause of human freedom itself, all depend on the decisions we make in these coming years," Bush said. "It is time for American leadership again."
Bush invoked a version of the Powell Doctrine, named for former Army Gen. Colin Powell, that guided his father, President George H.W. Bush, during the first Gulf War - to use overwhelming force with the U.S. military committed.
Bush also said that the U.S. military has faced nearly a decade of automatic budget cuts that have left it on the "ragged edge of readiness," with only 450,000 active duty U.S. Army soldiers and half of Marine divisions unprepared for combat, a shrunken Navy and elderly aircraft.