Carson, GOP White House candidates critical of Obama’s Syria plan for 50 Special Ops troops

Republican White House candidates on Sunday criticized President Obama’s plan to deploy 50 Special Operations troops in Syria to fight the Islamic State terror group.

“Sending 50 American Special Forces into Syria in the eyes of ISIL shows that Obama is not all in,” candidate and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It is a sign of weakness to ISIL. They have sized Obama up and they think he's weak.”

Graham, a defense hawk and Armed Services Committee member, argued that such a small group will have “no chance of winning” the fight to destroy the Islamic State, whose recent and unexpected rise has resulted in the militant group occupying large swatches of Iraq and Syria.

He downplayed the possibility of a clash between U.S. forces and Russian forces in Syria, sent to protect the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“There may be some potential,” said Graham, who has advocated for sending more troops to the region to battle the Islamic State. “But I see Russia and Iran mopping the floor with Obama... Russia is all in with Iran to support Assad.”