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Top U.S. General Calls Carpet Bombing ISIS ‘Inconsistent With Our Values’

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ARLINGTON, VA - FEBRUARY 1: Combined Joint Task Force Commander Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland speaks via teleconference from Baghdad, Iraq as Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook listens during a media briefing at the Pentagon to update operations on Operation Inherent Resolve on February 1, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia. It was reported that U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. (Photo by Olivier Douliery/Getty Images)
Commander Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland speaks via teleconference from Baghdad, Iraq as Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook listens during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Feb. 1, 2016.Olivier Douliery—Getty Images
By Sarah Begley

A high-ranking U.S. military official has objected to the idea put forth by some Republican presidential hopefuls that the military should “carpet bomb” ISIS, calling the idea “inconsistent with our values.”

Lt. General Sean MacFarland, who is in charge of the U.S. fight against the militant group in Iraq and Syria, said in a video conference with Pentagon reporters on Monday that we as a country “have a set of guiding principles.”

“And those affect the way we as professional soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines conduct ourselves on the battlefield,” MacFarland said, in remarks reported by ABC News. “So, indiscriminate bombing, where we don’t care if we’re killing innocents or combatants, is just inconsistent with our values.”

Republican candidate Ted Cruz has said he would “carpet bomb ISIS into oblivion” as President, while Donald Trump and others have expressed similar sentiments. MacFarland pointed out that Russia has been accused of bombing indiscriminately in Syria, and made the case that “right now, we have the moral high ground and I think that’s where we need to stay.”

[ABC News]

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