Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump accused his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of enabling Islamic State’s emergence with “her stupid policies” in a joint interview with running mate Gov. Mike Pence, while pledging to “declare a war” on the terror group.
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“Hillary Clinton invented ISIS with her stupid policies. She is responsible for ISIS,” Trump said launching a scathing attack on Clinton’s legacy as US Secretary of State while speaking to CBS’s “60 Minutes” show host Lesley Stahl in an interview aired on Sunday.
While Clinton was not acting on her own, being appointed by the outgoing President Barack Obama to the office, Trump centered his criticism on the presumptive democratic presidential nominee, arguing Obama was unaware of the aftermath of his foreign policy as he trusted Clinton with her choices.
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“She led Barack Obama – because I don't think he knew anything; I think he relied on her,” Trump claimed.
Outlining his own plans as to how to defeat Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL), Trump said he would declare a full-blown war on the group, however, promising to minimize the involvement of US troops in the missions on the ground and instead focusing on enhancing intelligence support.
“I am going to have very few troops on the ground. We’re going to have unbelievable intelligence, which we need; which, right now, we don't have,” he said.
Weighing in on the role of NATO in combating terrorism, Trump reiterated that the allies should engage more actively in the anti-terror efforts and do not leave the US to bear the brunt of the campaign.
“We support NATO far more than we should,” he stressed, adding that “a lot of countries that aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing.”
Indiana Gov. Pence, who for the first time appeared alongside Trump in an interview after being officially picked as vice presidential candidate on Saturday, echoed Trump’s criticism on Clinton and Obama’s inconsistent foreign policy blaming them for losing a grip over the global agenda.
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“The larger issue here is declining American power in the world,” he said, adding that the “inexact, unclear message about American resolve” that Clinton provided to the allies resulted in negative implications all over the world, ranging from terror attack in the US, France to the attempted coup in Turkey.
In the wake of the Nice attack that killed 84 people on celebrating France’s national holiday on July 14 and injured over 300 people, Trump announced he would ask Congress to pass the “declaration of war” on IS if he is to become the president.
“This is war. If you look at it, this is war. Coming from all different parts”, Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday. The difference between the war against terror and conventional warfare is that “in the old days, we would have uniforms. You would know who you’re fighting,” he added.