5 Things Matt Lauer Won’t Ask Hillary Clinton at Commander-in-Chief Forum

As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump prepare, in that order, to appear at the “Commander-in-Chief” forum Wednesday night, Clinton is seen as the heavy favorite because of “experience.” But Clinton’s record actually works in Trump’s favor, because it is simply disqualifying.

Trump can expect tough questions from moderator Matt Lauer, who has past ties to the Clinton Foundation, and will surely ask about Trump’s proposed restrictions on Muslim immigration and his alleged Russia ties. He will also hammer Trump with questions about his “temperament” — though Trump did much to put those questions to rest in his successful visit with the Mexican president last week.

Do not expect Lauer to ask about Clinton’s email server, or Syria (she called dictator Bashar Assad a “reformer“), or how she took foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation while in office.

Indeed, expect him to avoid her record, because Hillary Clinton cannot name a single accomplishment as Secretary of State.

Here are her top five foreign policy failures.

1. Iraq. One need not agree with Trump that the Iraq War was a bad idea — a view he belatedly adopted — to agree that the hasty, politically-motivated withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 was an even worse idea. Clinton, the nation’s chief diplomat, shares the blame for that failure, which was partly the result of failed negotiations with the Iraqi government. The pullout not only created the conditions for the rise of the Islamic State terrorists, but also helped Iran expand its hegemonic regional ambitions.

2. Libya/Benghazi. Clinton says she regrets her vote to authorize the Iraq war — and yet repeated the same mistake in Libya, this time without any congressional authorization whatsoever. She toppled Muammar Ghadafi without any plan for rebuilding the country, which was left to terrorists. The result was the spread of Al Qaeda across northern Africa, the emergence of Boko Haram in the Sahel, the arrival of the Islamic State, and the Benghazi disaster, for which Clinton was indirectly responsible.

3. Israel/Palestinians. Clinton relished her role as the Obama administration’s attack dog against Israel and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom she berated over the telephone for 45 minutes in 2010 over a plan to build apartments in a Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem. By adding new demands, such as a “settlement freeze,” she helped Palestinians evade negotiation and compromise. She has no pro-Israel achievements — and a long record of anti-Israel abuse.

4. Russian “reset.” Clinton led the Obama administration’s attempt to appease Vladimir Putin, famously presenting Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov with a big red button (which read “over-charge,” thanks to Clinton’s incompetent staff). The result: retreat on missile defense, an abandonment of NATO allies, the loss of the Crimea, and Russian restoration in the Middle East. She also let Russian interests control 20% of U.S. uranium after a timely donation to the Clinton Foundation.

5. Iran deal. Clinton proudly initiated the negotiations that led to the Iran deal, at a time when the regime was on the ropes. Rather than press home America’s advantage, she and Obama resisted new sanctions, leading to a deal that lets Iran adopt a slow path to nuclear power status. She continues to support the deal even after Iran’s ballistic missile tests, and even after the administration gave $1.7 billion in ransom to the regime — cash that will be used to fund Iran’s military and terrorist proxies.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.