Durbin: No Ground Troops To Fight ISIS [AUDIO]

John Gregory -- Illinois Radio Network

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says redeploying ground forces into Iraq won’t be a part of President Obama’s new plans to combat militant groups in that country.

The president is set to deliver a speech tonight on how the U.S. will deal with the group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.  While Obama has promised that the plan is to “hunt down” the organization, Durbin says that won’t mean U.S. soldiers will return to Iraq.

“I think Congress would draw the line there,” Durbin said.  “We don’t want to have another standing army in Iraq, Syria, or Afghanistan for that matter.  I think there will be general bipartisan support for the president, as long as he’s specific about what he wants to achieve.”

Durbin says ISIS is different from other terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, pointing out that Al Qaeda would condemn the beheadings that ISIS has carried out against two American journalists.