Trump slams US foreign policy, praises Russia's Putin
by Daily Sabah with Wires
IstanbulSep 09, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Daily Sabah with Wires
Sep 09, 2016 12:00 am
The Republican candidate Donald Trump said that he is in favor of deploying ground troops to Iraq in the first televised national security forum featuring the two presidential nominees. During the NBC News discussion, moderated by American TV journalist Matt Lauer on Wednesday, and centered on national security and foreign policy, Trump defend the deployment of U.S. ground troops while stating the importance of "taking the oil" in the Middle East, saying that "We would leave a certain group behind and they would take the various sections where they have the oil." Hillary Clinton pledged the withdrawal of U.S. ground troops from Iraq, that the U.S. would not "put ground troops into Syria." The forum served as a test run for the first time for Clinton and Trump before the first presidential debate on Sept. 26.
The U.S. has roughly 5,000 troops deployed in Iraq in order to conduct raids against DAESH. U.S.-led coalition forces would possibly conduct an operation to liberate the Syrian town of Raqqa and Iraq's Mosul of DAESH.
Leveling unusually harsh criticism against the military, Republican Trump also said Wednesday night that America's generals have been "reduced to rubble" under President Barack Obama and suggested he would fire some of them if he wins in November. Ahead of the forum, Trump rolled out a new plan to boost military spending by tens of billions of dollars, including major increases in the number of active troops, fighter planes, ships and submarines.
Republican nominee Trump again praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a "leader" and saying Putin has "great control over his country." Trump was asked at a presidential forum how he would de-escalate tensions between the U.S. and Russia if he's elected to the White House. Trump says he thinks he "would have a very good relationship with many foreign leaders," including Putin.
Trump has been criticized in the past for seeming to heap praise on Putin and other strongmen. But Trump was unapologetic on Wednesday night, saying he was happy to take a compliment from Putin. He says if Putin "says great things about me, I am going to say great things about him." Trump added, however, that Putin's compliments would not influence his decision making as president.
With just two months until election day, national security has emerged as a centerpiece issue in the White House race. Both candidates believe they have the upper hand, with Clinton contrasting her experience with Trump's unpredictability and the Republican arguing that Americans worried about their safety will be left with more of the same if they elect President Barack Obama's former secretary of state.
While GOP candidates are often seen by voters as having an advantage on military and national security issues, Trump is far from a traditional Republican. He has no military experience and has repeatedly criticized the skill of the armed forces.
A flood of Republican national security experts have instead chosen to back Clinton, helping bolster her case that Trump is broadly unacceptable. Earlier Wednesday, former Defense Secretary William Cohen joined the list of GOP officials supporting Clinton.
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