Rep. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), a U.S. Senate candidate and Iraq War veteran, said Wednesday President Obama must "engage deeply "with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to help stop the threat of ISIL.
"Nouri al-Maliki was a difficult man with whom to work for George Bush for much of 2005 and 2006, but that's one of the core jobs of our president is to manage the relationship with leaders of countries in trouble spots around the world," Cotton said. "Barack Obama has been disengaged, Nouri al-Maliki has reverted to his ways of purging his army of senior Sunni leaders and not respecting and governing for the entire population of Iraq, as opposed to his own sect and his own clans. The first thing that we need to do is for the president to re-engage with the leadership of Iraq so that government is actually governing for all of its people and turning al Qaeda back."
Cotton said he would urge Obama to set out clear diplomatic goals and work with Maliki's government on stopping ISIL.
"[ISIL] is a well-trained and disciplined force. Unfortunately, they're now also well-funded and well-armored," Cotton said. "That doesn't mean they can't be defeated by the Iraqi army, particularly if we're providing them with intelligence and other resources that don't require boots on the the ground."