On Thursday, Hillary Clinton hinted that she would not send US ground troops to fight ISIS if she were elected president. However, she has supported President Obama's current strategy of providing air support, supplies, and training to Iraqi forces.
“I do not think it would be smart, effective or appropriate for us to put ground (combat) troops into Iraq. ... There are specific roles that our military is playing and can successfully play in better focusing the Iraqis themselves on what they have to do because, eventually, this will be won or lost by the people in the region.“They are going to have to decide. Do they want to be oppressed and subjected by this regime of terrorism and give up their right to govern themselves to this group?”
Clinton has been running to the left in recent weeks in an effort to shore up the base of the Democratic party. This non-interventionist position falls in line with that leftward trend. In addition, she carries the liability of having supported the 2003 Iraq invasion, which her political opponents stand poised to exploit.
But the president's strategy in Iraq has largely failed to contain ISIS, and the situation near Baghdad is growing increasingly desperate. If the situation continues to deteriorate, Clinton may well back away from Obama's policies, just as she did on the trade bill.
