Republican Rep. Peter King says that it’s “really important” for Americans to support President Barack Obama’s decision to attack the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.
On
Fox News, the chairman of the House subcommittee on counter terrorism and intelligence said that Obama was wrong not to attack the Muslim extremists earlier, but the bombing of ISIS with a coalition of five Arab countries was a “very positive step.”
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“I believe the president made a mistake, a big mistake, pulling out of Iraq the way he did,” said King, adding that the same problems are surfacing in Afghanistan.
Although he criticized Obama for waiting too long before attacking ISIS in Syria, he went on, “Bottom line is that is really in the past. Right now we have to stand with the president and behind out military. We have to show we are in this for keeps.
“Whatever happened in the past, that’s behind us. What’s important now is as Americans we go forward, support the president and urge him to continue this to make sure these attacks continue and go on until ISIS has been devastated.”
King, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, said that he and other lawmakers had been urging Obama for months to hit the Muslim fanatics.
“Bottom line is that it is being done,” he said. “There are Arab nations involved, Sunni Muslims. It’s really important for all of us to come together. It makes our case better among other Sunnis, among other Arabs.”
“The (Islamic State) cannot say this is an attack by the infidels, or this is an attack by the West, this is a religious war. It strengthens the U.S. and puts us in a better position diplomatically.
“It is important for people to realize, as the president apparently now realizes, that we cannot just declare an end to wars in the Middle East. The fact is that Islamic terrorism is out to destroy us and they are out to fight us every way they can.
“The war is only going to end when they are devastated. And, in fact, this may go on for number of years, and in many ways it has been going on for 20 years. It is an enemy we have to stay after because as soon as we let our guard down they will come after us.”
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