President Barack Obama is living in a "make believe world" when it comes to the security of the United States and the threat posed to the country by radical Islamist terrorists, Sen. Tom Cotton told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Cotton said Obama was wrong in his State of the Union address when he claimed "the Islamic State (ISIS) has been stopped in Iraq, and we're winning against them." He said the U.S. had only "arrested their progress somewhat in Iraq."
"I think the president is living in a make-believe world, when it comes to our national security. It's cute when you're dealing with children, but dangerous when you're dealing with the president," the Arkansas Republican said Wednesday.
Obama's strategy against ISIS in Iraq and Syria was "severely lacking" and needed to have "a lot more bombing runs being conducted," as well as additional "air controllers on the ground," he said.
Cotton, an Army veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that claims four months ago by the administration were incorrect that Yemen was an example of a "successful counterterrorist strategy," since that country had experienced "a potential coup overnight."
He said the U.S. was at war with ISIS, whether or not the administration wanted to admit it.
"The Islamic State has declared war on us. It's not a choice as to whether there's a war existing. The choice is whether we win or we lose the war. Right now we are losing the war," he said.
Cotton suggested it would be "politically helpful" for Congress to draft a new Authorization for Use of Military Force on the effort, but said Obama "can't even define the contours of the requests he wants to make, because he doesn't want to conduct this war."
Defeating ISIS and radical Islamist terrorists was a "top priority" among Americans, according to polls, Cotton said, adding that the militants were successful in recruiting because of the advances they had made.
"They're recruiting right now because the Islamic State is on the march, because it is appealing to young radical Muslims all around the world who are going there to fight, to include from the West," he said.
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