Jeb: Obama ‘just doesn’t have the will’ on ISIS

GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush said early Wednesday that President Obama lacks the heart for eradicating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“We need a strategy to effectively destroy ISIS,” the former Florida governor said on CNN’s “New Day.” “We have the will to do it.

{mosads}“This president just doesn’t have the will,” Bush said. “This incremental process will not work.

“This is a tepid effort,” he added. “If we’re serious about it, we need to engage in a more robust way.”

Bush disputed Obama’s recent claim earlier that ISIS has been “contained” in its self-described caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

“Containment gives it energy to expand,” he said. “Our military needs to no longer have its hands tied behind its back.”

Bush also faulted Obama’s relationship with Russia during the two nations’ ongoing fight against extremism.

“Russia is not our ally in this regard,” he said. “We have to deal with them from a position of strength rather than a position of weakness.

“Our weakness has allowed them to create a military base in Syria at warp speed,” Bush continued. “Our weakness has allowed them to re-engage in the Middle East.

“One thing we’ve learned from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is that when he senses weakness he exploits it,” he added. “[Russia] would respect strength.”

Obama’s strategy for defeating ISIS is taking fierce criticism in the wake of multiple terrorist attacks.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded more than 300 others on Nov. 13. It is also taking credit for the bombing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt last month that killed all 224 people aboard.