O’Neill on ISIS: Meet Force with Force at the Point of Origin
We as the World Leader Need to Step Out Front.
As the 2016 battle for the White House heats up, candidates, including Donald Trump, are blasting the horrific actions of ISIS—and the way in which the war on terror is being “handled” for lack of a better term.
Going “On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren, Trump affirmed he does have a plan to defeat ISIS—one he wouldn’t be afraid to put into action if he were Commander-in-Chief. Though he wouldn’t divulge details because, “I don’t want the enemy to know what I’m doing,” the implication is that he would send ground troops back to Iraq.
Trump’s fiery rhetoric coincides with televised coverage of ISIS executing new killing methods for even more shock value. First it was beheadings, then burning people alive. Now, they’re burying bombs, forcing prisoners to kneel over such explosives and detonating death.
A man very familiar with what it’s like to fight terrorists face to face—former Navy SEAL Robert J. O’Neill—joined Greta on “On the Record” to assess Trump’s comments and discuss the reality of taking on ISIS.
Van Susteren: “We’re learning that Donald Trump might send ground troops back to Iraq to get those absolutely horrible savages, ISIS.”
O’Neill: “A great leader tells the truth and so do bullets. Someone that speaks the way that Trump speaks right now is going to be able to do what he says: put troops on the ground, take away their financial backings of the oil fields, work with a lot of great patriots who work in the cyber section to take them (ISIS) off social media and basically hand it to them.”
“A great leader tells the truth and so do bullets.”
Van Susteren: “You mention he wants to go after those oil fields and take away all the funding…he wants to have a targeted approach to these oil fields.”
O’Neill: “He would be smart enough…someone like him would be smart enough to be able to hit them on many different fronts but most importantly meet force with force at the point of origin .” Van Susteren: “Not one of us wants to send another person over there to lose a leg, an arm or a life. It’s such an agonizing decision.”
O’Neill: “What we need to do is send some of our U.S. Marines, army infantry, special forces, Navy SEALs over there, thump ‘em and give a stern warning. No, don’t do this again—and leave.” Van Susteren: “I don’t know if you’ve seen the videos or even the stills of what ISIS is doing now. It’s incredible, isn’t it?”
O’Neill: “It is, and all they’re trying to do is one up themselves… They’re doing it to taunt us because they’re not afraid of us right now. We’re at a point now when we won’t even admit what the enemy is. Until we admit they’re Islamic extremists we’re lying to ourselves.”
Susteren: “Why are nations not revving up and joining together more? Everybody agrees ISIS is evil and needs to go yet everyone just seems to sit around and talk about it.”
O’Neill: “We as the world leader need to step out front and admit what the problem is... Right now, for some reason, we’re not because we’re so afraid of offending people.”