On CNN’s State Of The Union, Graham Says He Has ‘A Plan To Destroy ISIL’ That Needs To Be Enacted ‘Soon’ Before They ‘Come To America’

“If I Am The Commander-In-Chief Of The American Component, We Will Be A Part Of A World-Wide Force To Destroy ISIL And We Will Not Leave Assad In Power. I Am Not Going To Give Yet Another Arab Capital To The Iranians. I Will Not Do That.”

GRAHAM ON HIS PLAN TO DESTROY ISIL:

“We Don’t Have Until The Next Election To Deal With ISIL.”
“I I would form a regional army made up of Arabs and Turkey, and American forces would be part of that army. We’d go in on the ground in Syria, we’d pull the caliphate up by the roots, and we’d take back land held by ISIL and hold it until Syria repairs itself. That requires American boots on the ground in Syria and we need more American boots on the ground in Iraq if we’re going to protect the American homeland, because they’re coming here if we don’t stop them there.”

“I can only tell you what I’ve learned after 35 trips to Iraq and Afghanistan in the last decade trying to understand this war. Number one: Obama’s strategy against ISIL is failing, it will not work. You’re only going to win this war if you go on offense. You’ll never win the war from the air….We don’t have until the next election to deal with ISIL. There is a 9/11 coming and it’s coming from Syria if we don’t disrupt their operations inside of Syria.”

“If We Don’t Do These Things Soon, What You See In Paris Is Coming To America. And If I’m Commander-In-Chief, That Will Not Happen. I Promise You.”

On How To Respond: “We’re Going To Fight ISIL In Their Backyard Or We’re Going To Fight ISIL In Our Backyard. I Choose To Fight Them In Their Back Yard.”
“Form a regional army with the French involved, if they’d like to be, and go in on the ground and destroy their caliphate. I’ve come to learn one thing over the last two years, we’re going to fight ISIL in their backyard or we’re going to fight ISIL in our backyard. I choose to fight them in their back yard. I choose to fight them in Raqqa. Not on the streets of the western capitals of the word and not in American cities.”

On Syrian Refugees: “I Believe The United States And The World Need To Go On Offense And Stop The Reason People Have To Leave Syria.” “The good people are leaving because they’re being raped and murdered and some terrorists are trying to get in their ranks. The best thing the world can do for the Syrian people is to create a safe haven within Syria, a no-fly zone.”

“I’m Trying To Protect America From Another 9/11. Without American Boots On The Ground In Syria And Iraq, We’re Going To Get Hit Here At Home. And If You Don’t Understand That, You’re Not Ready To Be Commander-In-Chief”