Blair: Ground Troops Shouldn't Be Ruled Out In Fight Against ISIS

Former British Prime Minister adds President Obama is “absolutely right” to take on the group.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said the U.S., U.K. and other Western powers should not rule out deploying ground troops against militants for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Speaking during an extensive interview with CNN, Blair said: “You certainly need to fight groups like ISIS on the ground. It is possible that those people who are there locally and who have the most immediate interest in fighting ISIS can carry on the ground offensive against them.

"But, look, this will evolve over time, I'm sure. And I'm sure that the leadership, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, will make sure that whatever is necessary to defeat ISIS is done,” he added.

He also said: "This problem isn't going away, and I think you'll find that the policy undergoes a process of evolution, where people realize in different situations you're having different strategies, and there may be situations in which we are prepared to use combat force."

He said that U.S. President Barack Obama was "absolutely right" to take on the group.

However, in a separate interview with the BBC, he said that local forces could be deployed against the group, as he conceded there was "no appetite for ground engagement in the West."

Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters

He said that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had improved Western nations' "capacity and capability" to fight, and that was no way to defeat "fanatical" groups like ISIS without "a willingness to take casualties in carrying the fight through to the end".

He added: "The problem is not that we're facing a fringe of crazy people, a sort of weird cult confined to a few fanatics.

"If it was, we could probably root it out, kill or imprison its leaders, deter its followers and close the doors to new recruits."

Blair's premiership, which lasted 10 years and came to an end in 2007, became defined by the U.K.'s involvement in the Iraq War in 2003, and his close relationship with U.S. President George W. Bush.

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