Cruz defends call to 'carpet bomb' Islamic State
MANCHESTER - Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Saturday that he stands by his call for "carpet bombing" areas controlled by the Islamic State group.
Cruz said that could be accomplished without mounting inappropriate levels of civilian casualties. He maintained that President Barack Obama's administration has unnecessarily strict "rules of engagement" because of concerns over civilian deaths.
The senator said his previous endorsement of "carpet bombing" does not mean "indiscriminate" bombing. He said he would order "targeted" bombings of oil fields, infrastructure, communications outposts and key locations in Raqqa, Syria, the de-facto capital of the Islamic State group.
