Rep. Paul Ryan: Obama's ISIS strategy the "right policy"

While Rep. Paul Ryan was critical of President Obama's "past mistakes" with U.S. policies in Iraq and Syria, the Wisconsin congressman acknowledged Obama's current efforts to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is "the right policy."

"I think the president is getting the right policy. I think he's doing the right thing now," Ryan said Monday on "CBS This Morning."

Obama suggested Sunday on "60 Minutes" that the U.S. intelligence community may have underestimated ISIS. The president also defended the White House's decision to not arm moderate Syrian rebels.

Ryan said there were "a couple of colossal mistakes" in Obama's policy that led to the emergence of ISIS, starting with Iraq.

"Not having a status of force agreement in Iraq helped contribute to the disintegration of the Iraqi Army," Ryan said. "And I disagree with him -- I think we should have armed the Syrian rebels early in the conflict."

"I think there are a lot of people in the administration who believe that we could have made a difference, should have done something different. And the military did want us to have a status of forces agreement in Iraq. There were ways about getting it," Ryan said.

Ryan said he thinks the president wanted to get out of the Middle East and "wash his hands of this."

"We didn't do it, I think, because the president wanted a precipitous withdrawal from the region. And that precipitous withdrawal created a vacuum that led us to where we are now," Ryan said.

While Ryan thinks Obama is doing the right thing now, he said he often thinks of how the Republican Party would have handled the situation.

"There are many moments when I look down at my feet and shake my head saying, I can't believe we lost [the presidency]. I wish we would have won because we would have done things a lot differently," Ryan said.

Of concern is the future of the U.S. military in light of Obama's budget proposal, Ryan said.

"Why is he proposing to shrink our Army to a level we haven't seen since pre-WWII, our Navy since pre-WWI and our Air Force to the lowest level we've ever seen before? So the facts of his policies don't necessarily jive with what he's saying," Ryan said.

During his "60 Minute" interview, Obama said that the U.S. is the country people turn to when a disaster hits.

"When there's a typhoon in the Philippines, take a look at who's helping the Philippines deal with that situation. When there's an earthquake in Haiti, take a look at who's leading the charge and making sure Haiti can rebuild," Obama said. "That's how we roll. And that's what makes this America."

Ryan said he agrees with the president's statement, but then the U.S. should have the kind of military that can do what Obama says the country is capable of or should be doing.

As for whether the U.S. should have boots on the ground for the offensive against ISIS, Ryan said he was unsure.

"What I do know is we need to do whatever it takes to defeat this threat to our country and we shouldn't be taking options off the table," Ryan said.

The former vice presidential candidate recently released a book, "The Way Forward: Renewing the American Idea," fueling questions about whether he would run for president in 2016.

While some would say the timing of the book release is suspicious and could be a part of a candidate's strategy, Ryan said he hasn't made a decision yet to run.

"The strategy is, I want to do what I can to help produce a conservative movement that's inclusive, aspirational and principled, and capable of winning a majority of Americans' support. I don't want to have another 2012," Ryan said. "I want to have a 2016 where we can get this country on the right track, and then have elections where we actually give people a real choice so that if and when we win that election, we have the mandate and authority to actually get this country's problems solved."