"Let me tell you what else I'm worried about: I'm worried about an opponent who uses nation building and the military in the same sentence. See, our view of the military is for our military to be properly prepared to fight and win war and, therefore, prevent war from happening in the first place."
That was W one day before the election. It didn't work out that way, did it?
Cruz is right about #1 (have a clearly stated objective that is tied to US national security from the very beginning) and #2 (use overwhelming force -- I'm not sure about his "rules of engagement" comment, though), but he's blowing smoke when it comes to #3 (we should get the heck out).
Any government that goes to the trouble of toppling a foreign regime isn't just going to clear out and let whatever happens happen. Ted Cruz won't tell you that. But we all know it.
“Any government that goes to the trouble of toppling a foreign regime isn’t just going to clear out and let whatever happens happen.”
They certainly could if the right leadership were in place.