As President Barack Obama pledged to “degrade and destroy” the Islamic militant group involved in the beheading of a second journalist, he also announced the number of U.S. troops on the ground in Baghdad would increase.
The U.S. will send 350 more troops to help protect the American Embassy and its support facilities in the capital, raising the number of U.S. forces in the country to over 1,000.
Americans appear to be split on whether the U.S. should commit to boots on the ground.
Several people visiting the Midway Museum along San Diego’s Embarcadero Tuesday had plenty to say about the escalating violence in Iraq.
Steven Serafin of Orlando, Florida called the situation overseas scary and disgusting. He questioned current U.S. policy. Since early August the U.S. has carried out 124 airstrikes against the Islamic State militants, the Associated Press reported.
"It just seems we're ignoring the situation there with limited bombing and not really going after them," Serafin said.
However, he stops short of supporting boots on the ground.
Local
“We just never seem to be committed to really finish the job,” he said. “I don’t want to see any more of our troops die like that.”
Jason Cardenas is a veteran who survived fighting for Iraqis' freedom near the region where ISIS is imposing its reign of terror.
As a member of Veterans for Peace, he says war's not the answer.
“You have to consider the humanitarian effort, but what’s bombing going to do? Create more animosity. It could fuel the fire even more,” Cardenas said.
Florida resident John Vogini said he’s concerned airstrikes aren't enough to stop the continued slaughter of Christians in the region by ISIS.
He feels the U.S. should eliminate the group using whatever is necessary whether that be ground troops or airstrikes.
“We’re either going to deal with them now or deal with them later,” Vogini said of ISIS.
His wife, Francia Vogini, said she considers herself a strong believer against war but called the situation is a “no-win for no one.”
“At some point, we have to make a change and we have to act a lot stronger that what we’re showing the war we are,” Vogini said.
Hank Clemons of Oceanside knows the cost of war. As a retired Marine who served in Vietnam, he supports President Obama. However, like many Americans, he also feels the effects war fatigue.
“He said no boots on the ground. That’s what he ran on. People voted for him because people didn’t want war," Clemons said.
However, he said, Obama should not be criticized for the changing landscape. “Who hasn’t said something they couldn’t live up to? You don’t have to criticize him for it,” he said.
