Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) said that since the beginning of Barack Obama’s presidency, the world has "dramatically shifted" in favor of the forces of radical Islam.
"He came to the presidency saying he was going to get out of everywhere and look—I’ve got to hand it to him—he’s done that to a degree," McCain said Monday.
"Look at the world in 2009 and look at the world today. My friends, it is dramatically shifted in favor of the forces of radical Islam, the forces of terror, and there are now direct threats to the United States of America."
McCain also said that Obama’s decision to add an additional 1,500 non-combat troops to aid the effort against the Islamic State was not sufficient to defeat the terrorist army.
"We're not winning there," McCain said. "We are going to have to have more boots on the ground because the only way you can really identify targets is to have boots on the ground."
McCain said the Obama administration’s failed campaign against IS (ISIL or ISIS) resulted from the president’s failure to recognize that the battle against IS in Iraq and Syria are part of the same conflict.
"This is a failed policy. It cannot succeed," McCain said. "They're looking at Iraq as one conflict in Syria as another. Do you think ISIS looks at it as two separate conflicts?"