Clintons military declaration – sound judgement?

“We are not putting ground troops into Iraq ever again and we are not putting ground troops into Syria,” the Democratic presidential nominee, who has consistently said she does not want to put ground troops into Iraq, said during a forum on national security on NBC News.

“We’re going to defeat ISIS without committing American ground troops.”

Clinton’s remark came in response to a question from an Army veteran who asked the former secretary of state how she would determine when and where to deploy troops overseas, particularly when it comes to fighting ISIS.

“We have to defeat ISIS,” Clinton said. “That is my highest counterterrorism goal. And we’ve got to do it with air power, we’ve got to do it with much more support for the Arabs and the Kurds who will fight on the ground against ISIS.

I wonder what the military experts think about those statements? Everything I’ve read says it’s unrealistic to think an enemy can be defeated with air power alone.

But more important, is that the prudent kind of statement to make, even if that is your policy? Is that the type of signal to send to the enemy and even allies? It sounds like the same type of constraining statements Obama made in the past.

Hey, I don’t promote sending our troops in harm’s way without the absolute necessity. I hope we never send troops to fight again, but political pandering closing off options and encouraging the enemy is foolish and dangerous in my view. Just keep your options open and your mouth shut already.

What do you say?