CNN Undercard Republican Debate: Live Coverage

How big should the U.S. military be to fight the Islamic State? It was determined, in the past, by the idea of a “two-front strategy,” or the idea that the U.S. military should be able to simultaneously fight two wars in different battle theaters. But terrorism is not conventional war. The tactics of the Islamic State can be more like a flash-mob than standard battlefront formations. It’s unclear whether a return to the two-front standard would sharply shift the nation’s military staffing, let alone priorities.

“Another 9/11 is coming as sure as I’m standing here,” Graham said before the commercial break. “They’re planning it tonight. The ISIL leadership wants to hurt you and your family.” Americans fear another terrorist attack more than they have at any other time since Sept. 11, 2001, partly because of candidate comments such as Graham’s, but also because of similar ones by FBI’s Director James Comey.