FOREIGN POLICY: It's lacking
Many Democrats label the Iraq War as “Bush’s War,” however, the initiative was reviewed and approved by the Bush Administration, Congress and a coalition of 13 member nations. Hillary Clinton was a member of Congress at the time and stated “Saddam Hussein is a threat to the Middle East and must go.” She voted in favor of the initiative.
Many armchair historians say the turmoil we face in the region is a result of that war. They are partially right; however, there is much more to consider before placing judgment. Two months after Saddam Hussein’s regime fell, Muammar Kaddafi saw the handwriting on the wall and acknowledged that his nation had a part in the downing of the plane over Scotland. His change of heart can be credited to Bush. The Bush Administration recommended that more troops be left in Iraq. Had that happened, the region may have avoided part of the turmoil we face today.
The first Obama Administration directed the military to reduce the number of troops to be left stationed in Iraq. Obama’s second term began with a foreign policy that had no policy. When the turmoil began in Syria, Obama declared “Assad must go.” The rebels heard Obama and thought help was on the way. At the time, you could distinguish the good guys from the bad, but not it’s hard to tell the difference. Obama further stated that Assad’s use of chemical warfare would not be tolerated. Nothing was done and two years later Russia sent its bombers into Syria to bomb the people we should have been helping. Obama’s “Arab Spring” became a winter nightmare. We meddled in Libyan affairs and that has left them without a firm leader to replace Kaddafi.
Assad is still using chemical weapons. If Obama had backed up his grandiose statement with action, the present slaughter of innocent civilians may have been averted and there would be less need for the many millions of dollars in refugee aid. When I listen to the national news and see the United States and United Nations doing nothing while thousands of innocent Syrians are gassed and children are dying from starvation, I get furious. The attitude seems to be out of sight out of mind; however, the problem is not out of sight.
Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton has outlined his or her foreign policy. Clintons NAFTA policy has pushed the stock market to record highs but somewhere along the line the middle class worker has been left behind. I can’t vote for Hillary and four more years of Obama; nor can I vote for Donald Trump, who invariably opens his mouth and sticks his Calvin Klein shoe in it. We have a mountain of debt and both candidates offer no more than a shovel to reduce its size. God help us!
LEONARD BRANT
Post Falls