Paul Ryan: We Have Been Getting Briefings of ISIS 'for a Couple of Years'

In an appearance on CNN’s “OutFront” on Tuesday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the 2012 Republican nominee for vice president, discussed what he views as the shortcomings of President Barack Obama’s policy dealing with the Middle East, in particular with ISIS.

Ryan said should Obama come to Congress with an appropriate plan, he would back the president and he laid out what his vision for that would be.

“I think the president should come to Congress with an authorization of force resolution and I would support that and I would the president pass it because I think it is necessary to see this threat through. We need to destroy ISIS. We need to do what it takes to destroy ISIS. You know, I’m not going to be an armchair general and tell you what I think has to happen to do this. But I do not believe you’re going to have to have whole divisions. This is not a 100,000 boots on the ground campaign. But I do believe based upon our experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan in particular that having special forces teams embedded with indigenous fighters and coordinated air campaign has been a very successful force in the past.”

Later in the segment, however, Ryan pointed to what he saw as “two colossal mistakes” in Obama’s foreign policy, which were dealt both Iraq and Syria. In that critique, Ryan revealed he personally had been getting briefings as a member of Congress on ISIS for a “couple of years.”

“[W]hen the president is going in the right direction, I want to support him. But we have been getting briefings on ISIS for some time now — not just recently but for a couple of years. The intelligence community has been warning us about ISIS. The president made two colossal mistakes in his foreign policy – not getting a status of forces agreement in Iraq and his Syria policy which in part has given rise to the problem we have today. And so we were not — I don’t think he got cold feet or he got caught off guard with ISIS. The intel has been telling us about ISIS. I just think the president has put together a policy until now.”

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