Zinke bashes Obama on refugees, Islamic State

Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, criticized plans by the Obama administration Monday, that would increase the number of refugees taken in by the United States and said the president's lack of action in combatting ISIS has “created a vacuum around the world.”

Zinke made the comments during an interview on Fox & Friends, in response to an announcement by Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday that the United States would raise the number of refugees it takes in from around the world from its current limit of 70,000 to 85,000 under the policy. By 2017, that number would rise to at least 100,000. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama said that the United States would take in at least 10,000 Syrians in the coming fiscal year who have been displaced by the nearly five-year civil

war between Syrian President Basher al-Assad and a smattering of anti-government armed groups, including ISIS.

Since the conflict started, nearly half the population has streamed out of the country, seeking refuge in nearby countries as well as nations in eastern Europe.

Kerry said during a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Villa Borsig in Berlin, where the two visited with Syrian refugees, that the United States would raise the amount of aid to Syria by $419 million, bringing the amount of overall amount the United States has given since the crisis began to $4.5 billion.

Zinke, however, said the refugees, which both the Kerry announcement as well as the Zinke interview focused on, was not the problem but a symptom of a failed policy that has allowed ISIS to gain control of large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria. Zinke argues that moves such as pulling all United States troops out of Iraq at the end of 2011 and not following up on threats to use the military if Bashir Al-Asad used chemical weapons, have brought about the turmoil.

“It is his policy because when we put the red line in and we let it go, we created a vacuum in Iraq and when you create a vacuum, that vacuum is either filled by our competitors or our adversaries,” Zinke said.

According to the Pentagon, since August 2014, the U.S.-led coalition has conducted 6,863 airstrikes against ISIS targets, including 4,328 in Iraq and 2,535 in Syria as of Sept. 15, and sent military advisers to train and equip Iraqi forces to regain territory.

But Zinke, a former Navy Seal Commander and Iraq War Veteran, said such efforts have been insufficient.

“Air operations alone, it was never possible to combat ISIS. That was an absolute farce and a failure,” Zinke said.

When pressed later for more specifics on what should be done to counter ISIS, Zinke's office directed the press to a Washington Times Op-ed written by Zinke. In it, the congressman calls for, among other measures, American help in building and supporting partnerships between sectarian factions in Iraq, revoking the passports of United States citizens fighting alongside ISIS and introducing United States military forces to gather intelligence, deploy response teams and combat enemy forces.