Retired neurosurgeon and potential 2016 presidential candidate Ben Carson said Wednesday that the United States should step up support and lead in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist group.
“If we’re not willing to go in and be the leaders, at least now there’s a fair amount of energy behind doing something about ISIS,” he said. “We should step up our support and work harder to get more people involved.”
Mr. Carson’s comments come after Jordan retaliated by hanging at least two convicted terrorists in the wake of Islamic State’s releasing a video of the burning execution of Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh.
“Now my true opinion is that we should be leading, and the reason I believe that is because one of the stated goals of ISIS is to destroy us and our way of life, and to sit around and wait for them or to let our survival be dependent on other people doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” he said. “We have an extremely capable military.”
Mr. Carson said it’s a “flashpoint” and that the U.S. “should never allow things that affect us and our safety to be dependent on someone else.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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