Rep. Tom Cole said the U.S. and its allies must fight the Islamic State in a methodical, effective way, without rushing to act for its own sake.
“I think, frankly, there’s way too much emphasis on acting now and doing something immediately instead of being smart about what we do,” the Oklahoma Republican told ABC’s “This Week.” “I think the elements of a strategy are already there. We know we’re going to use air power. We know we’re going to use special operators. We know we’re going to have to build alliances on the ground.”
Mr. Cole said President Obama and former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made mistakes and allowed Islamic extremism fester in Iraq and Syria for too long. But finger-pointing aside, he said Congress and the White House have to work on a bipartisan solution to the problem.
That way, he said, everyone will have their “fingerprints” on it and have to explain their choices to the American people.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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