LET'S BRING IN DAN CRENSHAW NOW,

MEMBER OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON

HOMELAND SECURITY, FORMER NAVY

SEAL, SERVED IN IRAQ AND

AFGHANISTAN, NOW SERVING IN REAL

COMBAT IN WASHINGTON AS WELL

WHICH IS ALSO PHYSICAL AND ALSO

VERY, I GUESS YOU COULD CALL IT,

TRENCH WARFARE.

FIRST OFF, CONGRESSMAN, ARE WE

SAFER WITH THE GENERAL DEAD?

>> FIRST OF ALL, THANKS FOR

HAVING ME.

AND THE ANSWER IS, ABSOLUTELY

YES.

SULEMANI WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE

DEATH OF HUNDREDS OF AMERICANS.

HE PLANNED EXECUTED ATTACKS ON

AMERICANS, GAVE IEDs TO SHIA

MILITIAS IN IRAQ THAT ARE

RESPONSIBLE FOR OVER 600

AMERICAN DEATHS NOT TO MENTION

ALL THE DEATHS AROUND THE

REGION, SYRIA, LEBANON, IRAQ AND

ELSEWHERE, HOUTHI REBELS IN

YEMEN.

SO THIS GUY'S BEEN A FORCE OF

DESTRUCTION AND DEATH IN THE

REGION FOR A LONG TIME.

THE HE'S THE HEAD OF ONE OF THE

LARGEST TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS

IN THE WORLD, THE IRANIAN QUDS

FORCE, SO, YES, WE ARE SAFER.

ARE THERE GOING TO BE

CONSEQUENCES?

OF COURSE THERE WOULD BE.

I WOULD FULLY EXPECT THE

IRANIANS TO PLAN SOME KIND OF

RETRIBUTION.

BUT HERE'S THE THING, WE HAVE TO

DISABUSE OURSELVES OF THIS

NOTION THAT WE SHOULD SIMPLY

CONTINUE TO TAKE PUNCHES, OKAY?

IRAN ATTACKED OUR BASE RECENTLY,

THEN THEY ATTACKED OUR EMBASSY

WHERE THEY FULLY SUPPORTED THE

SHIA MILITIAS THAT DID IT.

ARE WE SUPPOSED TO JUST LET THAT

HAPPEN?

AND TO SAY YES WOULD BE ABSURD,

AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHEN

AMERICANS BECOME SO FEARFUL.

YOU KNOW, WE -- THE COUNTLESS

PEOPLE ON THE LEFT TWEETING OUT

APOLOGIES AND BLAMING OUR OWN

GOVERNMENT FOR TAKING ACTION TO

KILL A MAN WHO HAS KILLED

AMERICANS.

AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHERE

THIS AMERICAN SELF-LOATHING CAME

FROM AND, FRANKLY, THANK GOD

THEY'RE NOT IN CHARGE.

STEVE: ACROSS THE AISLE FROM YOU

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DEMOCRATS,

WE'VE GOT A TWEET FROM ILHAN

OMAR, THEY WANT THE PRESIDENT TO

EXPLAIN WHAT LEGAL AUTHORITY HE

USED TO CARRY OUT THIS ATTACK.

WE HAD SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE

POMPEO ON WITH US A LITTLE WHILE

AGO, AND HE SAID IT WASN'T FOR

WHAT SULEMANI HAS ORCHESTRATED

SO FAR, IT WAS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN

IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE THEY WERE

PLOTTING MORE ATTACKS.

>> YEAH.

WELL, I CAN CERTAINLY --

[INAUDIBLE]

I MEAN, FIRST OF ALL, YEAH, THIS

WAS A, THIS WAS A STRIKE THAT

WAS IN RESPONSE TO ARE RECENT

STRIKES -- TO VERY RECENT

STRIKES AGAINST US.

SO THERE WAS A SELF-DEFENSE

MECHANISM TO THIS.

FURTHERMORE, THE PREVENTIVE

MEASURES.

BUT BEYOND THAT, THIS HAPPENED

IN IRAQ AGAINST AN ENEMY THAT

ATTACKS US IN IRAQ IN WHICH WE

HAVE PLENTY OF AUTHORIZATION TO

BE OPERATING IN.

THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK ON THE

IRANIANS.

IT'S LIKE SAYING WHEN THERE WAS

FOREIGN FIGHTERS IN IRAQ

THROUGHOUT THE IRAQ WAR, THAT WE

SHOULD NOT HAVE LET OUR SOLDIERS

ENGAGE WITH THEM BECAUSE WE

HADN'T DECLARED WAR UPON THAT

PARTICULAR COUNTRY.

THAT'S AN ABSURD THING TO SAY.

AND THESE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

KNOW THAT, OR MAYBE THEY DON'T

KNOW THAT.

I'M HERE TO TELL THEM THAT.

AND ALL THIS HAND-WRINGING THAT

THEY'RE DOING CERTAINLY DIDN'T

OCCUR DURING THE OBAMA

ADMINISTRATION, AND I WISH THEY

WOULD JUST LEE THE HYPOCRISY

ASIDE, THE PARTISANSHIP ASIDE.

WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER.

WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT AS A

CONGRESS WHAT AUTHORIZATIONS WE

SHOULD GIVE TO THE PRESIDENT

JUST IN CASE THESE DISTURBANCES

AROUND THE REGION CONTINUE TO

ESCALATE.

THE LAST THING WE SHOULD BE

DOING IS LOOKING TO OUR PAST,

AND I'M FRIENDS WITH TULSI

GABBARD, BUT TO SAY THAT WHAT WE

SHOULD BE DOING IS LOOKING TO

OUR PAST AND TRYING TO ANALYZE

WHY THIS HAPPENS, THAT'S ABSURD.

THAT'S A GREAT ACADEMIC

ARGUMENT, BUT IT DOESN'T HELP US

IN OUR CURRENT REALITY.

WE HAVE AN ENEMY THAT DOES WANT

TO DESTROY US.

AND WE DO HAVE TO DEAL WITH

THAT.

WE DIDN'T LOOK AT HISTORICAL

TEXTBOOKS TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.

WE HAVE A CHOICE BETWEEN PEACE

AND WAR, AND IF WE WANT PEACE,

WE CAN SURRENDER TO THEM RIGHT

NOW.

OF COURSE, STEALING THAT QUOTE

FROM REAGAN.

BUT THAT'S NOT A GOOD STRATEGY.

ALL RIGHT?

IT'S A FEARFUL STRATEGY.

IT'S CERTAINLY NOT A STRATEGY

FOR A COUNTRY LIKE THE UNITED

STATES OF AMERICA.

AINSLEY: DAN --

BRIAN: THE ONE THING WE'VE GOT

TO WORRY ABOUT IS THE NEXT TEN.

BE PREPARED FOR THE NEXT STEP.

IF YOU WERE IN COMMAND CONTROL

NOW KNOW WE JUST TOOK OUT THE

NUMBER TWO MOST IMPORTANT PERSON

IN IRAQ, WHAT WOULD YOU BE MOST

FOCUSED ON AT THIS HOUR?

>> WHAT WE KNOW THE IRANIANS ARE

VERY GOOD AT IS SURROGATE

WARFARE.

THIS WAS WHAT SULEMANI DID,

OKAY?

HE BUILT SURROGATES TROUT THE

REGION -- THROUGHOUT THE REGION

THAT COULD ATTACK US ON OWL

FRONTS.

WE SHOULD BE BOLSTERING DEFENSES

IN OUR BASES IN IRAQ, IN BAHRAIN

AND ELSEWHERE.

AND HELPING OUR ALLIES IN

ISRAEL.

THAT'S WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING

IN THE SHORT MATERIAL.