U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) released the following statement on President Obama's commencement address at West Point, which addressed the Administration's foreign policy.
Chairman McCaul: "Today, the President proved once again that he is intent on picking his conflicts based on politics, instead of dealing with the problems at hand. He has elected to pull out of Afghanistan based on arbitrary timetables, as opposed to building on the progress and sacrifices of both our Armed Forces and the Afghan people, and is choosing to leave too soon. Conversely, he has chosen to engage in Syria too late.
"While there were options for helping the once mostly moderate opposition forces, in many places extremists rebels have now taken control of the front lines. Therefore President Obama's decision to wait until now to address the crisis will affect not only our national but homeland security for years to come. This President must come to grips with the fact that Islamist extremism and al Qaeda linked groups are spreading, becoming more powerful and still intend to do us harm. Therefore America's leadership, not its withdrawal, is more crucial than ever."