“An aerial campaign will not destroy them,” Graham said. “You’re going to need boots on the ground, not only in Iraq, but in Syria.”
Host Norah O’Donnell said the Islamic State effectively controls 20,000 square miles in those two countries, and the group released a video on Friday that appears to show the execution of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto. Graham called Iraq and Syria the “best platforms to launch an attack on [the] United States” since 9/11.
Graham said he thought aerial strikes, which have been ongoing against the group, have helped push it back but that “there’s got to be some regional force formed with an American component, somewhere around 10,000” in order to stop the group.
