--- title: U.S. May Have to Send Troops to Defeat ISIS: Boehner description: If all other strategies fail, the U.S. shouldn't put a troops option off the table, the House Speaker says canonical: https://time.com/3442216/boehner-isis-troops/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-28T19:00:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:27:21.211Z article:section: Politics og:title: U.S. May Have to Send Troops to Defeat ISIS: Boehner og:description: If all other strategies fail, the U.S. shouldn't put a troops option off the table, the House Speaker says og:url: https://time.com/3442216/boehner-isis-troops/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6940c7bf014dfdd8/6986a5c21eebf79673372e3d/boehner.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: House Speaker Boehner Holds Weekly News Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. May Have to Send Troops to Defeat ISIS: Boehner twitter:description: If all other strategies fail, the U.S. shouldn't put a troops option off the table, the House Speaker says twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6940c7bf014dfdd8/6986a5c21eebf79673372e3d/boehner.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Boehner: U.S. May Have 'No Choice' But to Send Troops to Fight ISIS by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Sep 28, 2014 7:00 PM UTC  Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) speaks to the media during his weekly briefing at the US Capitol on Sept. 11, 2014 in Washington, DC. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) speaks to the media during his weekly briefing at the US Capitol on Sept. 11, 2014 in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Sep 28, 2014 7:00 PM UTC House Speaker John Boehner said in an interview aired Sunday that the [U.S. may need to commit ground troops](http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/week-transcript-house-speaker-john-boehner/story?id=25778660&singlePage=true) to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), despite widespread opposition at home to putting American boots back on the ground in Iraq. “At the end of the day, I think it’s gonna take more than air strikes to drive \[ISIS\] outta there,” Boehner told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. “At some point, somebody’s boots have to be on the ground.” Boehner went on to say that if the United States can’t train sufficient forces to secure the region or find allies willing to commit enough ground troops, he would recommend sending American troops. “We have no choice. These are barbarians. They intend to kill us. And if we don’t destroy them first, we’re gonna pay the price,” the Speaker said. More than 70% of U.S. soldiers [oppose committing to combat operations in Iraq](http://time.com/3442002/troops-poll-iraq-ground-isis/), according to a recent poll, and a CNN poll released earlier this month showed that 61% of Americans oppose placing U.S. troops in Iraq. President Obama has [repeatedly pledged](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/17/obama-central-command-iraq-syria-tampa-dempsey-ground-troops/15766543/) there will be no ground troops used in Iraq. U.S. Navy Vice Admiral John Miller told ABC that “progress \[is\] being made” with the current strategy of using airstrikes combined with Kurdish and Iraqi troops, mentioning the recapture of the Mosul dam, reinforcing the Haditha dam and securing Baghdad, as well as Sinjar mountain, among others. 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