Will America put boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria? Well, some are already there serving as military advisers, but in terms of divisions of ground troops being deployed; 72 percent of Americans think this will happen if we continue to engage ISIS.
The figure comes from a NBC poll, which also noted “45 percent are in favor of using them if military commanders think they’re the best way to defeat the ISIS army, while 37 percent are opposed.”
Right now, the European Union estimated that more than 3,000 Europeans have flocked to the Middle East to fight for ISIS; there are about 12 Americans fighting with them amongst their ranks.
It costs us about $7.5-10 million a day fighting ISIS, but that number could change.
Right now, President Obama is already limiting his options be refusing to consider any military plans that requires ground troops. It’s a politically toxic for Democrats, whose base is still furious over our invasion in 2003.
Regardless, as George Will aptly noted, wars are seldom won by airpower alone–and given the caveats Europeans have regarding their own armed forces; it’s save to assume that we will be the ones providing ground troops if and when the time comes.
Strategically, Iraq is more palatable to Americans; we just need to push ISIS out of the country. This would not be like 2003, where we mobilized 200,000+ troops for Iraq, but Syria is an entirely different animal.