The Islamic State is "broken, but they're not done" after its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died in a weekend raid, but the United States must remain in northern Syria, continue to work with the Kurds and collect the intelligence it needs to conduct such operations, Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, said Monday.
"My broader concern is our larger strategy in Syria," the Texas Republican, a former CIA agent, told CNN's Jake Tapper. "You still have about 20,000 ISIS fighters throughout Syria and Iraq"
Getting Baghdadi "off the chessboard" is significant, said Hurd, as he was responsible for the loss of many lives. In addition, the operation was a great victory for the U.S. military's special forces, intelligence officials, and the nation's allies, he said.
"This is an operation that is an example of how you have to have allies and resources on the ground to get this done, so I want to make sure that we are able to enjoy and celebrate these kinds of operations in the future," said Hurd, pointing out that intelligence gathered from Kurdish allies led to the mission's success.
"That is why I think we have to change our policy because of [President Donald Trump's] decision to pull out of northern Syria," Hurd said. "I think it is an incredibly bad decision. It is going to impact our allies."
Also on Monday, Hurd commented on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's announcement there will be a vote Thursday to move forward with open hearings in the impeachment probe into President Donald Trump, saying it is premature because there is still oversight to do in Congress, Hurd said Monday.
"I want to hear from Rudy Giuliani and senior NSC [National Security Council] staff, and I think that could be done through the current rules of the House," Hurd told CNN. "I'm sure we'll see the details in the next couple of days."
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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