HELSINKI (Sputnik) – Wicker said that the United States needs to work with regional partners in order to uproot the Islamic State and should not just announce “promises” to them.
“I think the Islamic State arose because our current administration in Washington withdrew precipitously and left a vacuum in Iraq and allowed this radical state to arise. I think it was a mistake on the part of this Obama administration. I wish we could turn back the clock but we can't,” US Senator Wicker said in an interview.
He said that a large coalition is needed in order to defeat the radical terrorist group.
“The Islamic State has to be defeated militarily and the sooner we come to this grim realization, the better off we’ll be. It is not a task we hoped for or welcomed, but a broad coalition of countries that believe in stability and the rule of law has to step forward and defeat this group militarily,” he added.
A regional coalition in the Middle East is needed in order to conquer the Islamic State, but Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime should not be included in it, Wicker told Sputnik.
“I don't think that the Assad regime in the regional coalition against IS would be effective. I think it would send the wrong message. But from a larger point, I do think a regional coalition is necessary, in fact and I also agree it is a wider threat than people initially thought. I think it is a threat to Russia, I think it is a threat to former Soviet republics, there is a threat to Western Europe,” US Senator Wicker said in an interview.
