Blum: Committing troops to fight ISIS a ‘high bar’

DES MOINES - Iowa U.S. Rep. Rod Blum is withholding judgment on President Barack Obama's request for authorization to use military force until he knows more about the actual request and the commitment from Mideast nations to fight ISIS.

He's more likely to approve if the president is proposing the United States act in an advisory role and provide air support and training.

However, Blum will have to be convinced if the AUMF calls for 'boots on the ground.”

'The countries over there need to engage in this fight, they need to put boots on the ground before the US does, for sure,” Blum said Tuesday afternoon. 'But to send young people to die, it's a high bar for me to jump across.”

The freshman Republican expects Obama's AUMF to come up for discussion when Congress returns to Washington after the Presidents Day recess. He has a number of constituent meetings planned this week, including a tour, with Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Kendrick Forest Products in Edgewood, a meeting at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids and a tour of Freund-Vector Corp., in Marion with Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg, all Wednesday.

Opinion on the president's request for authorization in the House are split, he said, with some 'hawks” telling him it doesn't go far enough. 'And other people who feel we shouldn't be involved at all say it's too strong.”

He accepts that ISIS is a threat, but wants to see Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other nations commit ground troops before the U.S.

'If we're going to get to the point we're committing boots on the ground, those countries better have more boots on the ground than the United States,” Blum said.