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U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, right, greets Sen. Maria Cantwell prior to a markup hearing on Keystone XL pipeline before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee January 8, 2015 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong, Getty Images North America)

WASHINGTON Fresh from an eight-day, six-country tour that included hotspots throughout the Middle East, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner said Monday that it was imperative that American leaders avoid repeating in Afghanistan many of the mistakes that were made when the U.S. military left Iraq.

Specifically, the Colorado Republican applauded as "wise" the recent White House decision to slow the drawdown of troops and advisers from Afghanistan, and he urged a continued U.S. presence there.

"What I don't want to see happening is a collapse of Afghanistan like we saw with Iraq," said Gardner, pointing to the violent rise of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the region. "We have to make sure we can get the Afghanis to a point to where they can defend themselves."

Asked then how long he thought U.S. military personnel should remain in Afghanistan which he estimated at 10,000 in strength the freshman senator demurred to the Pentagon and White House. "That's something that our president and commanders and leaders on the ground will work through," he said.

His position on Afghanistan troop levels forceful in some ways but deferential or amorphous in others is representative of how Gardner, new to both the Senate and the Foreign Relations committee, is approaching his growing role as policymaker in U.S. global affairs.

The eight-day trip, to Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom, was designed to connect the rookie senator with world leaders and also help him bone up on his global affairs while traveling with other U.S. leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

"It was an intense seven to eight days," said Gardner, who added that he took copious, handwritten notes throughout the international trip.

And at every stop, he said, loomed the issue of Iran and its tentative deal with U.S. and international negotiators.

"It came up everywhere," he said. "In every single meeting that we had."

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Cory Gardner: Avoid Iraq mistake in Afghanistan