JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Islamic militants continue their murderous advance in Iraq, and the Pentagon is moving more firepower and manpower into the region to prepare for whatever President Barack Obama orders.
But retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Oliver North says boots on the ground is the only viable way to stop the bloodbath.
Appearing on "The Morning Show," he told News4Jax's Bruce Hamilton, "Well, he made his decision when he said no boots on the ground, and therefore I'm considering all options. Well, there are very few options left. Unless he puts American air tactical controllers on the ground to control the airstrikes, we're going to kill a lot of civilians because the terrorists are intermingled among them."
North said when it comes to the contentious issue of airstrikes with no boots on the ground, there isn't anybody he's talked to in the U.S. military in the last 72 hours that wants to do it that way because they don't want to be blamed for killing civilians. So he thinks the president limiting his options is a very serious mistake.
North, in town for a book signing, said the president would need a Status of Force Agreement before doing that. And he doesn't think the American public will buy into it.
"The American people have pretty much had it with this. Even the president's supporters in the Congress and Senate are saying we've got a disaster on our hands," North said.
He adds compounding the Iraqi crisis is that the Revolutionary Guard, which is supposed to protect the Iraqi regime, are responsible for American deaths themselves.
And he said, "Before you put the first U.S. sailor, soldier or Marine outside the U.S. embassy compound, you absolutely need a Status of Forces Agreement to protect them from being attacked by what he calls Islamic law."