Boehner: U.S. may need ground troops to destroy ISIL

House Speaker John Boehner says the U.S. may have "no choice" but to send ground forces into Syria to battle the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

"At the end of the day, I think it's gonna take more than airstrikes to drive them outta there," the Ohio Republican said in an interview airing Sunday on ABC's "This Week," according to a transcript. "At some point somebody's boots have to be on the ground."

Asked if the U.S. should supply those ground forces if no other country would, Boehner said: "We have no choice. These are barbarians. They intend to kill us. And if we don't destroy them first, we're gonna pay the price."

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President Barack Obama has ruled out sending ground combat forces to battle ISIL in Iraq and Syria, something Boehner said was a misstep.

"If I were the president, I probably wouldn't have talked about what I wouldn't do," he said.