Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
While he is not pushing to send American troops into Syria and Iraq to deal with the terrorist groups known as ISIS, or the Islamic State, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) argues the threat posed by the group must be taken seriously.
Johnson is calling on President Obama to develop a plan and set up a coalition of willing western and Arab states to deal with ISIS. “We have to defeat ISIS,” Johnson says. Otherwise, he believes that the group will “not be contained” to Syria and Iraq.
Pointing to the beheading of journalist James Foley earlier this week, Johnson says it shows that ISIS is “brutal, they are barbarians, they are evil.” He says that the group has long indicated that, once it establishes a base of operations in the Middle East, it will use that to carry out attacks against the west. “We ignore it at our own peril,” Johnson warns.
AUDIO: Sen. Ron Johnson (1:03)
Johnson says the air strikes the U.S. has carried out to slow the advance of ISIS have helped, but he believes President Obama was largely pushed to act after the group seized control of a key dam that was in danger of failing. “His hand was forced there, but his hand is also going to be forced when we start seeing what a threat these guys represent.”
Johnson’s comments came during a stop in Barron County on Wednesday.
Audio courtesy of Mike Duncan, WJMC