Removal of United States Armed Forces From Iraq and Syria

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, the resolution before us here today, in my judgment, is dangerous and should be defeated.

For months, Congress and the American people have demanded a strategy from this administration to defeat and destroy ISIS, a barbaric and growing terrorist empire that threatens not only the people of Iraq and Syria but also the United States.

Today the Secretary of Defense testified that ``ISIS is a threat to the homeland because of its avowed intentions to strike and recruit in this country. ISIS must be and will be dealt a lasting defeat.''

But this President does not have a strategy to accomplish this. We continue to fight the terrorists with one hand tied behind our back, and the only thing worse would be to disengage completely, which is exactly what this resolution would do.

I recently led a bipartisan delegation to the Middle East, where I visited Iraq, ground zero in the fight against ISIS, a week before Ramadi was overtaken by ISIS, and I spoke with Prime Minister Abadi. Unfortunately, the current strategy, in my opinion, relies too heavily on Shia militias, a proxy of Iran, to defeat ISIS.

We now have over 3,000 American servicemembers there to advise and assist the Iraqi national military. But the President has restricted our ability to take the fight to the enemy because he is more committed to his campaign pledge to end the wars in the Middle East than he is to ending ISIS. The President has, in fact, made the situation more dangerous. His failure to negotiate a status of forces agreement and the complete failure of Prime Minister Maliki to govern effectively created a vacuum that ISIS now fills.

In Syria, a civil war continues to rage. There too ISIS has filled the void. Islamist fanatics from more than 100 countries have traveled overseas to fight with groups like ISIS and al Qaeda. Thousands of these jihadists carry Western passports and can exploit security gaps to return to the West and the homeland, where they plot attacks against the United States.

Meanwhile, Iran is actively engaged in both Iraq and Syria, embedding Shia fighters in Sunni communities in Iraq and doing Assad's bidding in Syria.

As Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu recently told our delegation: ``Iran and ISIS are competing for the crown of militant Islam.''

This resolution would ensure that Iran and ISIS will continue to dominate in the region while thousands of innocent civilians suffer and die.

Just ask the Yazidi Christians in Iraq if they support leaving security in the hands of ISIS and the Iranians. Thousands of Yazidis would have been killed last summer if it weren't for U.S. airstrikes to repel an ISIS advancement against them. Nothing could be more irresponsible or damaging to our interests.

But let me say this in response to those who say this is a vote to urge an AUMF vote. I personally support a strong AUMF, an authorization, but one to defeat and destroy ISIS.

We met the White House counsel. He presented a very different AUMF that would restrict further the President's current abilities to destroy and defeat ISIS. I cannot support that.

And this resolution, with all due respect, is the wrong way to accomplish the goal of defeating ISIS through a strong Authorization for Use of Military Force.

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