Ben Carson calls for declaration of war against Islamic State

Retired neurosurgeon and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson wants Congress to issue a formal declaration of war against the Islamic State terrorist group as part of a multi-step plan to combat the group, also known by the acronyms ISIS or ISIL, and protect the United States.

“We can no longer dawdle while ISIS continues to persecute Christians, enslave young girls, oppress civil societies and perpetrate terrorist attacks against the free world,” Mr. Carson said in a statement Tuesday. “We must destroy their caliphate and prevent their terrorists from infiltrating our homeland.”

Mr. Carson also said the United States should lead a regional coalition against the group that would include countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. He said the U.S. should encourage its partners in the region to engage in “massive recruitment and training” of Sunni Syrian men based in the Gulf and of Sunni Syrian male refugees in Jordan to establish a military force and a “protection zone” for victims.

Mr. Carson, who recently traveled to Jordan, also called for a “refugee safe zone.”

The retired doctor’s standing in recent polling on the 2016 GOP presidential race has declined in recent weeks as Americans’ concerns have shifted to terrorism and national security in the wake of the recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. Those issues are likely to receive significant attention at the GOP debate Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Mr. Carson also called on Congress to establish a “war-time emergency visa and immigration policy” and limit visitor visas to three months with check-ins for extensions no longer than three months.

“We must also secure our borders, identify radical Islamic extremism by name and root out its agents and collaborators in our own country,” Mr. Carson said.

Mr. Carson called on President Obama and Congress to deploy the National Guard and military troops to patrol the U.S. southern border and “designated spots” along the northern border.

Mr. Carson also wants the Department of State to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and similar groups as terrorist organizations and “fully investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and a supporter of terrorism.”