President Obama and the military have always had an uncomfortable relationship, but it appears that the question of what to do about ISIS is reaching a boiling point.

Obama is of the opinion that ISIS can be “dismantled”  — sort of like taking apart a Legos tower, apparently — by arming and training some 5000 “moderate” Syrian rebels, against between 20000 and 31,500 psychopaths comprising ISIS. What precisely is meant by “moderate” in that part of the world is anyone’s guess; I wonder if we will have to “dismantle” them at some later point. But I digress.

While the Senate voted on Thursday to fund and arm these rebels in compliance with the President’s demands, a number of military leaders have openly criticized Obama’s approach to ISIS, and it’s not just the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey. Retired Marine General James Mattis, who has served under Obama, told the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday that Obama’s explicitly stated refusal to employ ground troops was “tying the military’s hands.”  He added: 

“Specifically, if this threat to our nation is determined to be as significant as I believe it is, we may not wish to reassure our enemies in advance that they will not see American ‘boots on the ground. If a brigade of a our paratroopers or a battalion landing team of our Marines would strengthen our allies at a key juncture and create havoc/humiliation for our adversaries, then we should do what is necessary with our forces that exist for that very purpose.”

Former Army Vice Chief of Staff General Jack Keane, appearing on The Kelly File told Megyn Kelly of enormous frustration at the Pentagon, CENTCOM, and among the military due to Obama’s constant overriding of their capable opinion. He claims we have a “weak hand” on the ground with the Kurds, Iraqis, and the Syrian rebels, and is of the opinion that only a ground campaign can defeat ISIS.

Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno, himself a former top general in Iraq, was quoted in the New York Times as declaring “You’ve got to have ground forces that are capable of going in and rooting them out.” However, in the Navy Times on Thursday spokeswoman Lt. Colonel Kathleen Turner appeared to walk back General Odierno’s comments, insisting that “General Odierno was referring to the Iraqi Ground Forces.”  Is this a bit of CYA for the general, figuring he’s going to lose out to Obama, anyway?

One outspoken American who will never backtrack on his words is Constitutional attorney and radio host Mark Levin. On Wednesday night’s Hannity, the “Great One” said this:

“These men are trying to communicate to the American people that they are military men and we cannot defeat this enemy unless we use all of our armed forces and armed services. That’s number one. Number two, Obama does not view this as a military action. He keeps telling us it’s not a war, it’s not a war. For him, the truth is it’s about politics. It’s about containing this issue politically for him so he can focus on fundamentally transforming America.”

He continued:

“So the generals and the military see this quite differently than our very political president who really doesn’t want to defeat this enemy. Or he will go to Congress, get a declaration of war, unleash hell on these cockroaches and then get out. Instead, he speaks to our military men and tells them don’t worry, no combat boots on the ground. He has said it a thousand times so everyone of our enemies in every single language can understand under this so-called commander in chief he has no intention of defeating them, period.”

I guess the compassionate President is just hesitant about sending our military troops back into a conflict that is still festering even after ten years. He wants to assure them that a return to “The Sandbox” is not in their future.

So he’ll just send 3000 of them into the hell holes of Ebola-laden West Africa.