Tony Blair says defeating IS requires 'proper ground war'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair says the Islamic State group will be defeated only with a ground war involving Western troops.
Blair says air strikes alone will not defeat the militants. He said Tuesday that "you are going to have to go and wage a proper ground war," with British and American troops playing a supporting role.
Blair's decision to take Britain into the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 remains deeply divisive, and Iraq is mired in violence. Blair is likely to be criticized in a long-delayed report on the war and its aftermath that will published in July.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At an event in London, Blair acknowledged the invading nations had underestimated the "forces of destabilization" that would emerge in Iraq after the toppling of dictator Saddam Hussein.