MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA— Hundreds came to see Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), a Republican candidate for President of the United States, as he unveiled his national defense strategy aboard the USS Yorktown Tuesday morning.
He was joined on the aircraft carrier by former Texas Governor and U.S. Air Force veteran Rick Perry, who said Cruz had a “Deep and heartfelt commitment to the men and women” in the United States military. Cruz was also joined by South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford, a 10-year air force veteran and former governor of the state.
“Unfortunately, President Obama’s global agenda” has not worked out, Cruz said in his remarks. In fact, his agenda has “encouraged” the “aggressive behavior” of our enemies, he said.
“We now know what a world without America would look like. Far more dangerous, and beholden to terrorist and criminal regimes,” the Texas Senator said.
Cruz made clear that he rejected the current of isolationsim that is making its way through United States politics.
We are told “If we mind our own business, the outside world will leave us alone,” he said, adding, “Isolationism does not work.”
“Hostile actors … will not hesitate to strike us here at home if they believe they can get away with it,” Cruz reminded the audience aboard the USS Yorktown.
But this doesn’t mean a Republican administration should just dump money into the Defense Department, he said, noting the “bloated bureacracy” at the Pentagon. Additionally, he called for the auditing of the Pentagon, so as to control waste there.
The Texas Senator laid out statistics in support of his argument that the U.S. military needs to be revamped.
“Rebuild our military so it will be feared by our enemies and trusted by our allies,” he said.
He highlighted Ronald Reagan’s philosophy of peace through strength. “When your adversaries understand your strength, suddenly their appetite for conflict diminishes markedly,” Cruz stated.
And The U.S. must also develop a cohesive strategy for its Mid East affairs, he said.
“We should focus on utterly defeating ISIS using our overwhelming airpower,” Cruz stated.
In addition to partnering on counter-terrorism operations with the Israelis, Egyptians, and Jordanians, the United States “should work with our long time allies the Kurds,” he said. And members of this Middle East coalition should be supporting each other in operations to go after Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, Al Nusra, and other terror entities, Cruz stressed. Hopefully, “Islamism will join other discredited ideologies … on the ash heap of history,” he said.
The Republican candidate for President targeted “a total active duty” force “of at least 1.4 million soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines.”
The “nation must be prepared for multiple, near simultaneous conflicts,” he said.
Sen. Cruz’s full military proposal is available here
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