16 February 2016, 14:30 GMT
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad would result in the Daesh jihadists controlling the country, US Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said denouncing the current US administration's foreign policy.
"Assad’s a bad man. But if we topple Assad, ISIS will take over Syria," Cruz said during Wednesday night's Republican town hall on CNN.
A similar "catastrophic mistake" was made by US President Barack Obama's administration when it engaged in the overthrow of the Libya’s long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi, the presidential hopeful added.
Libya has been in a state of turmoil since Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011 by Western-backed Islamist extremists.
Daesh, which is outlawed in numerous countries including in Russia, seized a pocket of Libyan territory centered in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte in November 2014.
