Senator McConnell Warns Against Allowing Russia to Fill Vacuum in Middle East, Afghanistan

Senate Majority Leader reiterates his warning against a quick drawdown of troops in Syria and Afghanistan. He also warns that "if you withdraw too soon" that Russia and Iran will be only too happy to fill the vacuum. "American leadership is absolutely essential," Senator McConnell says. He says "hard-won gains" would be imperiled by a precipitous withdrawal, again warning that "Our response to this progress must not be to take our foot of the gas pedal but rather to keep to those strategies that are clearly working...We have not yet defeated ISIS," he says. The majority leader also goes on to say that Russia must be contained in the region. "If we truly care about containing Russia, the battleground is not only on Twitter or Facebook, but also in the world of old-fashioned geopolitics," he says. close