Dem. rep: Fight with ISIS could lead to another Vietnam

Protestors rally against U.S. military force
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) is a Marine Corps veteran who served four tours in Iraq and was a military adviser 10 years ago. He is now an outspoken opponent of President Obama's authorization for use of military force (AUMF) against ISIS, comparing the U.S.'s involvement in the Middle East to the behavior that led to the Vietnam War.

The U.S. currently has more than 2,500 military advisers in Iraq, and according to Moulton, a "military advisory mission can quickly become a ground combat mission."

"Let's not forget,'' he continued, "the Vietnam War started as a military advisory mission."

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Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are asking that amendments be made to the AUMF legislation. Moulton, who visited Iraq last week with other Congress members, says there must be a "long-term political strategy to insure that whatever military effort we have today won't be in vain."

"What I want to make sure is that even if we're able to defeat ISIS militarily," Moulton said, "we don't have to go back there three or four years down the road just to do it again against ISIS or some other group that might crop up in the political vacuum left by a dysfunctional Iraqi state."

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Teresa Mull