Former president Jimmy Carter took a harsh jab at President Obama this week, telling the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the commander-in-chief dragged his feet on confronting Islamic State terrorism.
“First of all, we waited too long,” Mr. Carter said in the interview. “We let the Islamic State build up its money, capability and strength and weapons while it was still in Syria.
“Then when [ISIS] moved into Iraq, the Sunni Muslims didn’t object to their being there and about a third of the territory in Iraq was abandoned.”
Mr. Carter also said the ground troops, at some point, are going to become a necessity.
“If we keep on working in Iraq and have some ground troops to follow up when we do our bombing, there is a possibility of success,” he said, Mediaite reported.
Mr. Carter’s jabs come just a short time after former secretaries of defense Robert Gates and Leon Panetta have criticized the White House for failing to act in a timely manner against the Islamic State.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.