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Bill O'Reilly proposes mercenary army to fight terror

The Fox News host of the "O'Reilly Factor" joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss his new book, "Killing Patton," and his ideas to battle terror group ISIS.
Bill O'Reilly on America's strategy to defeat ISIS militants 05:34

While the United States unleashes airstrikes in Syria and builds a coalition against ISIS, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly is proposing his own solution to fight terrorists: a volunteer mercenary army with troops from all over the world, trained under U.S. authority and funded by a coalition.

Bill O'Reilly investigates WWII Gen. Patton's life and death 08:08

"We would select them, special forces would train them -- 25,000-man force to be deployed to fight on the ground against worldwide terrorism. Not just ISIS," O'Reilly said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning" while promoting his new book, "Killing Patton."

The permanent force based on a NATO coalition would take the politics out of worldwide terrorism, O'Reilly said.

"What's killing the west now in this fight on terror, and Putin as well, is the politics of it. Can't get anything done quickly, can't mobilize fast. So, it's going to happen. This anti-terror army is going to happen," O'Reilly said confidently.

The mercenary army would create a "central command" to fight even against terror groups like Khorasan, O'Reilly said. Yet, according to O'Reilly, the army doesn't exist because people don't "have the will yet."

Bill O'Reilly: “I write about people who are icons” 00:49
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"It's going to take another 9/11 attack for the world to get the will," he said.

O'Reilly said six months ago he told President Obama on his show that he would have to bomb ISIS in Syria.

What Bill O'Reilly discovered while writing "Killing Patton" 00:53

"And last night it happened," O'Reilly said. "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that there's a trajectory of worldwide terrorism that has to be confronted. Everybody knows it has to be confronted. Yet they dither and they dally and delay and they obfuscate it has got to stop, or... we're going to have a beheading every day unless they knock these guys out."

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While the "O'Reilly Factor" host said Obama did the right thing by launching airstrikes in Syria, he said it was too late. According to O'Reilly, intelligence sources "intensely" advised Obama about the growing threat of ISIS a year ago, but the president did not want to take action for a number of reasons.

"And obviously now it's a threat to the world. And since the world is largely cowardly, the United States has to lead the way to try to degrade these people and wipe them out," O'Reilly said.

Five Arab nations also participated or provided support for the airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, but O'Reilly discounted the significance of the coordinated efforts.

"Look, it's nice that Jordan and Saudi Arabia helped us, but it doesn't mean anything. It's all symbolic. It's not propaganda, it's a PR thing," O'Reilly said.

O'Reilly, who wrote about the mysterious death of the venerated World War II Gen. George Patton in "Killing Patton," said if the general were the head of the Join Chief of Staffs, this war would be fought in a different way.

"Because Patton was, bring the battle to the enemy, don't wait until you're hit and react. We've been waiting ... These people are Nazis, alright? This is the same mentality that Hitler brought -- there's no difference," O'Reilly said. "Now we have Iran also, also giving us a hard time about nukes. They're right in the shadows here. And you have Putin trying to resurrect a Stalinesque expansion. We have a lot of problems here, and we better wise up and start to get a central authority to deal with some of them."

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