In a new foreign policy interview, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump warned that his opponent Hillary Clinton’s plans for military action in Syria if elected would lead to World War Three because of the risk of the conflict quickly including Russia.
Trump warned that Clinton’s calls for military action against Syria weren’t feasible, warning “you’re fighting Syria, Russia and Iran” with such an operation, adding that Russia is a country with a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons.
In the past two debates, Clinton has made much of her Syria plans involving imposing a “no-fly zone” over the country, claiming that the operation would give the US “military leverage” over Russia in the negotiation of an eventual deal over regime change.
Pentagon officials have sounded similar concerns, with Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warning that even establishing a no-fly zone would require the US to commit massive military force to Syria, and would have a major potential to lead to direct military conflict with Russia.
Trump, by contrast, has argued that the war should be focused on defeating ISIS instead of defeating the Syrian government. This same debate has been ongoing within the Obama Administration for months.
As usual, the Clinton campaign did not address the substance of the concerns, but rather condemned Trump, insisting he is “parroting Putin” by arguing against a war with Russia, and that he is “unfit” for the presidency.
Dangerous and frightening woman. But Trump really did not adress these issues early on — nor make a clear case to the voters what is at stake. He really does not have the political skills to understand that he was supposed to talk to voters not grt distracted by her campaign snares.
There has been only one occasion when two nations with a nuclear arsenal nearly came to blows. That was the Cuban Missile Crisis. Both JFK and Kr. came to realize that such wars should not be started. Both JFK and Kr. understood that the opposite nation had national interests which could not be violated. The notion that a President Clinton will start a nuclear exchange with Russia over a “no fly zone” over Aleppo is reckless talk. She may press Putin and the UN for such a policy but to the brink of nuclear war? That would sink all of her domestic objectives.
The worst is that our next President will inherit from President Obama the bombing in a country which was approved neither by its government nor by our Congress. The only justifications are the anti-terrorist laws passed by Congress applied liberally to Assad and Isil.