Ted Cruz: I Think We Stayed Too Long in Iraq

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) criticized former President George W. Bush for staying too long in Iraq and trying to stabilize the fledgling democracy in the country.

Cruz made his comments during a discussion on the threat posed by the Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria with Washington Post reporter Dan Balz at the Texas Tribune festival.

Cruz said that United States foreign policy should be more focused on removing immediate threats rather than geo-political gains, and he criticized President Obama for lacking a direct military strategy to combat ISIS.

Cruz criticized Obama and his generals for repeating that there would be “no military solution” in the war with ISIS, adding that it was a “hopelessly utopian goal.”

Balz noted that Cruz voted with liberal champions like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT).