Donald Trump set himself apart from Hillary Clinton and President Obama’s foreign policy approach during a speech in Youngstown, Ohio on Monday where he laid out his foreign policy approach to deal with the Islamic State (ISIS) and radical Islam in more detail than he has in the past while on the campaign trail.
“If I become president, the era of nation building will be brought to a very swift and decisive end,” Trump vowed, adding it’s time to “chart a new course.”
A Trump administration’s foreign policy approach would focus on halting the spread of radical Islam. The GOP nominee said this goal in stopping radical Islam must be shared by Democrats and Republicans, as well as allies overseas, adding that any country who shares in this goal “will be our ally.”
“Some don’t share this goal,” he added of other countries. “We cannot always chose our friends, but we can never fail to recognize our enemies.”
The New Yorker said he will call for an international conference, working with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, to focus on this shared goal. He added that the U.S. could find common ground with Russia on the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
“They too have much at stake in the outcome in Syria,” he explained about Russia.
The Republican nominee stated that as president he will have joint military efforts to stop ISIS, cut off the funding for the terrorist group and using cyber warfare to stop its recruiting and propaganda.
“We cannot allow the internet to be used as a recruiting tool,” he stressed. “We must shut down their access to this form of communication and we must do it immediately.”
Trump said a new immigration policy is needed as well to stop terrorist attacks on American soil, adding that the terrorist attacks that have occurred here “have involved immigrants or the children of immigrants. Clearly, new screening procedures are needed.”
“We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people,” he explained, stressing the need for assimilation and saying that he supports “extreme vetting” for those who wish to come into America.
Trump is calling for a temporary suspension on immigration and visas issued to countries where terrorists have spread violence. According to Breitbart’s Ken Klukowski, the Constitution allows a ban on Muslim immigration from terrorinfiltrated countries.
“I will ask the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to identify a list of regions where adequate screenings cannot take place,” he explained. “We will stop processing visas from those regions” until there are new procedures put into place.
“We will defeat radial Islamic terrorism…we will not defeat it with closed eyes or silenced voices. We have a president that doesn’t want to say the words. Anyone who cannot name our enemy is not fit to lead our country,” Trump criticized, referencing both President Obama and Hillary Clinton who have balked at identifying violent attacks as radical Islamic terror. “Anyone who cannot condemn the hatred, oppression, and violence of radical Islam lacks the moral clarity to serve as our president.”
“The rise of ISIS is the direct result of policy decisions made by President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton,” Trump declared.
He pointed to the Middle East’s condition before Obama and Clinton took office, saying that in 2009 Libya was stable, Syria was under control, and Egypt was ruled by a secular president.
He added that Iraq had a reduction in violence and a group, which is now called ISIS, was close to extinct.
However, Trump says under Obama and Clinton’s foreign policy Libya is now in ruins, ISIS has gained territory, Syria is in a civil war, and a refugee crisis is plaguing Europe and the west.
“ISIS has spread across the Middle East and into the west,” he explained, saying ISIS was in seven nations as of 2014. “Today, they’re fully operational in 18 countries with aspiring branches in six more.”
After proclaiming Obama and Clinton’s foreign policy led to the spread of ISIS and destabilization of the Middle East, Trump declared, “It is now time for a new approach,” adding that regime change has proven to be an absolute failure.
“I will be your single greatest champion,” Trump vowed at the closing of his speech. “I will fight to ensure that every American is treated equally, protected equally, and honored equally. We will reject bigotry and hatred and oppression in all of its many ugly forms.”
He added that only “as one American people” can “we make America great again and safe again for everyone.”
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