Rep. Dan Crenshaw, who served in the military in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said Wednesday he agrees with President Donald Trump that endless wars shouldn't be fought, but he does not want the president making the same mistakes former President Barack Obama made pulling out of Iraq.
"I've been a strong proponent of holding the line in Syria, especially," the Texas Republican told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "We have the right balance. I would I tell this president is you've actually found the right balance. What we were doing before was an overstep, definitely an overstep, trying to build an entire nation and trying to police the war. That was awful."
Crenshaw said Trump is actually open to his concerns, as he does listen to members of Congress.
"This is an ongoing discussion," said Crenshaw. "That doesn't mean he will agree with what I have to say. His arguments are they can maintain a presence in Iraq and still watch what's happening in Syria and take action, if necessary. I, of course, push back on that."
Crenshaw also said he supports Trump's idea for talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan, but he is skeptical about how that will go.
"What he said last night he would want to maintain a counter-terrorism presence there," said Crenshaw. "That's fine, about the right balance. The idea we can control the rural areas in Afghanistan is fantasy. That's where I was hurt and where we continue to take territory and cede it right back. We need to maintain a presence there."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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