Thousands of people have died since ISIS’s reign in the area, according to reports from the United Nations. Recently, the organization recorded two videos of the beheading of two American journalists that were held hostage.
The plan comes after Obama’s trip to the NATO Summit and the end of Congress’ summer recess.
U.S. House District 8 Democratic candidate Tom Spangler, a businessman from Jasper, Ind., said if he were elected, he would not vote to have boots-on-the-ground-level involvement, but that he does ?believe in some militant attacks.
“We’re going to have to use our drones and use our technology in our aspect of special forces to eliminate our enemy,” Spangler said.
Spangler said he believes the president’s use of executive action is strategic to the stalemate of work in Congress.
“Congress is not going to be willing to come up with their own answers,” he said. “The president, being the commander in chief, is doing what he needs to do.”
Libertarian candidate Andrew Horning said he would not vote for any military involvement, but added that his prospective congressional duties and candidacy do not stand for what he would necessarily choose to do as a representative.
“I would vote ‘No,’ but I would not be doing the work,” Horning said. “It would be the voters who, for the first time in 100 years, would say something different (from the status quo of the two-party ?system).”
District 8 Rep. Larry Bucshon, who voted against both bills, said in an interview last week with WEHT Eyewitness News from Henderson, Ky., that the U.S. should be involved in containing the organization with possible military force. He notably suggested the U.S. continue using airstrike attacks.
“It’s clearly a group of people that don’t care about human life and are, ideologically, pretty radical,” Bucshon said in the interview. “I think they are a potential threat to our country and to our allies.”
A spokesperson from Bucshon’s office said he is looking to see what Obama lays out Wednesday.
In his interview with “Meet the Press” on Sunday, President Obama said he would meet with members of Congress on Tuesday to discuss his strategy to contain ISIS and announce the plan to the public ?Wednesday.
President Obama described the plan as having economic, political and military elements to not just contain the organization but also hinder its power.
“We are going to systematically degrade their capabilities,” he said in the interview. “We’re going to shrink the territory that they control. And ultimately we’re going to defeat them.”
Obama did not confirm or deny that he would be bypassing Congress for an authorization vote on his actions.
Only two major bills have been voted on recently that involve militant relations in the Middle East. Seven of Indiana’s nine U.S. representatives voted against amending a bill to appropriate funds to provide weaponry in Syria.
All nine members voted against prohibiting American combat operations in Iraq. Voting for both bills took place June 19.
This story is part of a weekly series profiling candidates before the midterm election Nov. 4. Candidates from each district will be interviewed on a rolling basis.
