in many cases especially in afghanistan there's not a clear end state. not a clear goal. we're muddling along. it's fundamentally wrong to ask american troops, american marines, sailors, soldiers to put their lives on the line without a clear end state. >> so dan brought up syria. i'm curious what your thoughts are when it comes to syria. obviously, the goal in taking 2,500 to 4,000 troops over there was to stop the spread of russia's influence, iran's influence, assad's influence through parts of that region. does your organization oppose troops in syria with those stated goals? >> you don't have to go to a fancy university in the u.n. ni states. all you have to do is go to syria. i was an embedded adviser on the