Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I was delighted to read that President Trump has reflected on his initial instinct to pull our 2,000 soldiers out of eastern Syria based on his conclusion that ISIS is defeated, and, instead, he is ordering a withdrawal at a proper pace consistent with American objectives. To meet our goals of a safe American homeland and progress towards regional stability, America must first develop a strategy to eliminate ISIS from northeast Syria along the lower Euphrates valley at the border of Syria and Iraq. This plan must include a productive role for our partner and ally, the Kurds. It is not in America's interest to abandon our long friends, the Kurds, to Turkish treachery and annihilation. Recent open-source data suggests there are 30,000 ISIS-related fighters in the lower Euphrates valley. With our allies, we must press this villainous band to its inglorious end. Our leaving with no plan will squander our immense success in cutting off funding and winning back hard-fought territorial gains from the occupation of ISIS. Second, America must block Iran. A key here is a small base and deconfliction zone at al-Tanf, a small force of 200 anchors that base along the key highway between Damascus and Baghdad. Not only is this a strategic imperative, Mr. Speaker, but 50,000 refugees are tenuously housed in this deconfliction zone at Rukban. Withdraw, and death awaits them. Neighboring Jordan can take no more.…”