Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz Suggests Using Kurds, Peshmerga to Fight ISIS on ABC 'This Week' WIth George Stephanopoulos
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas recently stated he would put U.S. troops on the ground in the Middle East to fight against ISIS if it was necessary to "accomplish the mission."
Cruz spoke to ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" regarding his ideas about battling ISIS. He shared the viewpoints of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who also told Stephanopoulos last week that he wouldn't overlook the idea of sending in American troops to battle ISIS. The senator shared additional steps he would take in battling the terrorist organization and said he would arm forces currently battling ISIS in the Middle East and also increase the number of American air strikes.
"We need to arm the Kurds and we need to use the Peshmerga as boots on the ground. They're effective. They're ready. They're our close allies, and we need to use that in close coordination with overwhelming air power to take out ISIS," Cruz said.
The Kurds in northern Syria and Iraq have been battling ISIS for months. Recently the Kurds in Syria reclaimed the crucial town of Kobani.
Stephanopoulos also questioned Cruz on the latest efforts by the GOP to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security. This is an attempt to stop President Obama's executive orders on immigration.
The senator would not cop to the allegations and shifted the responsibility for blocking funding toward the House leaders.
"This was not my plan. This was leadership's plan. This was the Cromnibus, which you'll recall in December, I fought vigorously against it. I said, this plan doesn't make sense. It gives away all our leverage, and it's a plan that is designed to fail. So, I would ask leadership, this is their plan they designed. Let's see what their next step is," Cruz said.
The senator is also rumored to be considering a 2016 presidential run going against Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com