ICYMI: Sen. Cruz: This administration is not doing the job that we need of a Commander in Chief to defend our nation
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spoke with Fox News’ Sean Hannity last night on the U.S. plan to destroy ISIS and the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey.
Sean Hannity: Joining me with more is Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Good to see you.
Sen. Ted Cruz: Sean, great to be with you.
Hannity: Maybe you can shed some light, this policy of the President. Your reaction.
Sen. Cruz: It's extraordinarily dangerous. From the beginning, President Obama's response to ISIS has been fundamentally unserious. Whether it is golfing while terror attacks or whether it is admitting candidly to the world that he has no strategy. This administration is not doing the job that we need of a commander in chief to defend our nation. Today we had Secretary Hagel, we had General Dempsey before the Armed Services Committee. I try to press them hard on the very simple question, if the objective were to destroy ISIS. Not to degrade them, not to limit their ability, but to destroy them within 90 days, what would be militarily necessary to do that. I'm sorry to say neither gentleman could say that. General Dempsey said the military can't do that. Their focus seems far more focused on issues of political reconciliations on side issues. They were more of a social worker than military leaders.
Hannity: Senator, I guess, if you look at the bombings that took place yesterday, so close Baghdad, but that's only because ISIS has now accumulated all this territory that our troops died fighting for.
Sen. Cruz: Yes.
Hannity: Where is the sense of urgency for securing our border -- and we'll get into this with Congressman Gutierrez later. Considering that it's so wide open, we're told that people from Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan are coming in. aren't these problems we need to solve if we want to keep the American people safe?
Sen. Cruz: Absolutely. And you're right; there is no sense of urgency, no sense of seriousness. We’ve seen ISIS go from roughly 10,000 fighters to now north of 30,000. And the administration's approach -- ISIS right now is the face of evil. They’re crucifying Christians, they're persecuting Christians, they've beheaded children, they've beheaded two American journalists on the global stage. They’ve promised to take jihad to our shores. The Administration's response that they deal with this as a PR matter. Drop a bomb here, send a missile here. When I asked General Dempsey, militarily how would we go in and kill the terrorists before they're able to take jihad to America, his answer was, well, we need to see political reconciliation. We need to change the conditions on the ground so people are not susceptible to extremism. Look, it's not our job to be social workers in Iraq and put them all on expanded Medicaid. It is our job to kill terrorists who have declared war on America and who have demonstrated the intention and capability to murder innocent Americans.
Hannity: I would add to that, secure the border?
Sen. Cruz: Absolutely to secure the border. And this is an administration who resolutely refuses to secure the border. I’ll tell you the morale, as you know well in the border patrol is at an all-time low because the political appointees are telling them not to do their job. And Sean, what we ought to see in the Senate this week -- I’ve introduced legislation that provides that any American who takes up arms with ISIS has through doing so forfeited his or her U.S. citizenship. We should not be letting people with U.S. passports come back from fighting with ISIS and carry out acts of terror here.
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