Ted Cruz: ‘We Stayed Too Long and Got Too Involved’ in Iraq

During a discussion at the Texas Tribune festival, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) dismissed the concept of nation-building in the Middle East, and criticized the Bush Administration for “stay[ing] too long and [getting] too involved” in Iraq.

“We shoudn’t be turning Iraq into Switzerland,” he told Washington Post reporter Dan Balz, adding that it’s “not our job” to attempt such a task.

Cruz drew a distinction between nation-building and taking military action to deal with agents “who pose a clear and imminent present danger to our national security,” such as ISIS, but slammed Obama for his failure to deal with national security and getting “distracted with political objectives.”

Watch below, starting at 7:57:

[h/t Charlie Spiering]
[Image via screenshot]

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