Committing to kinetic force is not something to be taken lightly. Sure, the television images are exciting and captivating but what is the strategy after the ratings come down? Reactions from lawmakers have been predictably partisan but Senator Ted Cruz of Texas had the soberest take on the situation, saying:

“In addition to any military action that we may choose to take, we must also take action against Assad’s financiers. We should withdraw from President Obama’s disastrous Iran deal that is enriching the Iran government with billions of dollars, and those ill-gotten gains are in turn being funneled to Syria to prop up the Bashar regime.”

It is impossible to ignore the fact that President Obama allowed the war in Syria to fester in order to get Iran to agree to stop developing their nuclear program. The Senator wants President Trump to make the case for why continued action in Syria “is in the national security interests of this country” like in the good ol’ days. This is a consistent point for Cruz who opposed Obama’s action in Syria in 2013 while also being one of the biggest critics of the Iran Deal and clashing with his own party is familiar territory for Cruz.

The case does not seem like a difficult one to make. Is it in America’s national security best interests to stay in a deal with people who send the message of Let us do what we want in the region or we will nuke everything starting with Israel? This doesn’t seem like a difficult decision to make.

Being concerned that things in Syria could go sideways is not colluding or aiding Russia; it’s called being a grown-up. Iran’s regional aspirations are an issue that is not going away.