Boehner Thinks 'Somebody's' Boots Should Be on the Ground, Just Doesn't ...

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) criticized President Barack Obama's military strategy against ISIS, saying boots on the ground would be needed to defeat the Sunni militants, but was less forthcoming when This Week's George Stephanopoulos asked if he were willing to send Americans to be those boots on the ground.

'At the end of the day, I think it's gonna take more than airstrikes to drive them outta there,' Boehner said. 'At some point somebody's boots have to be on the ground.'

'American?' Stephanopoulos asked.

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'Listen,' Boehener said. 'The president doesn't want to do that. If I were the president, I probably wouldn't have talked about what I wouldn't do. And maybe we can get enough of these forces trained to get 'em on the battlefield. But somebody's boots have to be there.'

'And if no one else will step up,' Stephanopoulos pressed, 'you would you recommend putting American boots on the ground?'

'We have no choice,' Boehner conceded. 'These are barbarians. They intend to kill us. And if we don't destroy them first, we're gonna pay the price.'

YMMV as to whether he got out of that with plausible deniability.

Watch the clip below, via ABC News:

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[ Image via screengrab]

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