The US President has proposed deploying ground troops to fight ISIS.

However, the proposal submitted by President Obama to the US Congress on February 11th would have certain limitations on the level of involvement of US troops.

According to Reuters, President Obama had previously defended his unilateral decision to lead an international coalition against IS in August 2014, when US aircraft began attacking the militant group in Iraq.

ISIS militants in Raqqa, Iraq (Photo: Reuters)

However, Obama faced criticism from US lawmakers who argued that he had violated the limits of presidential power as stipulated by the Constitution.

To ease pressure on the President to allow lawmakers to consider this crucial issue, given that both houses of the U.S. Congress have been controlled by the Republican Party since January 2015, Obama has pledged to submit a proposal requesting Congress to authorize his use of military force in Iraq and Syria.

Nevertheless, Obama's proposal could face intense debate over the deployment of American troops to the two countries and the extent of their involvement in the fight against ISIS.

According to U.S. lawmakers, in his proposal, Obama would ask Congress to authorize the government to use U.S. special forces and advisers for defensive purposes, not offensive operations. However, these special forces and advisers would not be geographically restricted when participating in operations against ISIS.

Lawmakers said they were outraged by the death of Kayla Mueller, the last American citizen held hostage by ISIS, as well as the recent burning to death of a Jordanian pilot by ISIS, and were prepared for a snap hearing and then a vote on authorizing the US President to use military force in Syria and Iraq as soon as Congress returns to work after its recess from February 16-20.

Many of Obama's Democratic lawmakers, who are tired of the nearly 14-year-long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, have said they would not approve granting President Obama authority if he intends to "send ground troops into combat."

"I am deeply concerned that granting such authority could lead to Obama's successor sending troops to fight in the Middle East again," Senator Chris Murphy declared, asserting that this is an issue on which he and many Democratic senators cannot compromise.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers have objected to the fact that the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. military (the President) is prohibited from using ground troops in his military operations.

Many lawmakers have called for President Obama to be given increased powers to better confront the challenges posed by both the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad and ISIS.

According to VOV.VN