Their frustration stems from the Democrats’ claims that the Iraq war led to the rise of the Islamic State, a new incarnation of al Qaeda that today is roiling Iraq and menacing the Middle East. The 2003 invasion isn’t the problem, Cotton says. Rather, it is Obama’s decision to pull troops out of Iraq after the Bush-led military “surge” of 2007 succeeded in defeating local al Qaeda forces and stabilizing the country.

“The indictment of President Obama’s policy is much worse than the purported indictment of President Bush’s policy because everyone questions if we had known then what we know now,” Cotton said. “It’s hard to analyze hypotheticals in history; I’m confident that the world is a better place and the world is a safer place with Saddam Hussein removed from power.”

“President Obama knew then what was going to happen, because his military commanders were advising him that they needed a small stay-behind force of 10,000 to 15,000 troops,” he added. “President Obama, for political reasons, knowing what he knew then, still made the decision to withdraw all our troops from Iraq.”