CNN host Jake Tapper asked Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, about the current state of Libya and the Middle East during an interview Thursday.
"I know you're concerned about Libya and the greater Middle East is about that country, not about politics, but can you say anything other than the region is in a worse situation than it was when President Obama took office in terms of Libya, and Iraq, and Syria?" Tapper asked. "And, in that sense, isn't this an issue that is really helping Republicans as they make their case to the American people this election year?"
"Well, I think it's certainly true that the Arab Spring unleashed a really incredible and unprecedented forces, which has caused a lot of these state boundaries and lines drawn up over a century ago to largely evaporate in places like Iraq and Syria and has introduced a whole new level of violence and instability in the region," Schiff said.
"I don't know that you can lay the Arab Spring at the feet of the administration," Schiff said. "There is certainly going to be a lot of fodder to debate over what our policy ought to be going forward in Syria and Iraq."
The House Intel Committee has had a series of briefings Thursday, both in public and behind closed doors, with national intelligence directors over the current threats to the United States.