When Republican candidates met on Tuesday in Venetian casino in Las Vegas. at the last GOP debate of the year, it seemed clear that every one of them has his own idea of which path America should go on after the upcoming elections for the White House. And the foreign policy problem caused the biggest friction inside the party, says CNN.
There were discussions about national security issues such as terrorism and the Middle East problem, and everyone claimed that they had the right answer. GOP candidates argued on how is best to defeat ISIS, over the balance between security and privacy and the wisdom of regime change in the fractious Muslim world. They continued on the issue over American boots on the ground in Syria as well as how to handle Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the same source.
Obama, accused of not having an adequate attitude
Of course, Barack Obama didn’t escape from critics, penalized for his so called passive attitude on foreign policy matter. “We would shoot down the planes of Russian pilots if in fact they were stupid enough to think that this president was the same feckless weakling (as) the president we have in the Oval Office … right now.”, said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Christie’s opinion is that U.S should install a no-fly zone over Syria, no matter the consequences. His statement provoked hard reactions. “I think if you’re in favor of World War III, you have your candidate.”, said Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a candidate with more restraints when it comes to foreign policy.
Although the Republican party has yet to make a final decision on whether America would benefit from a more harsh intervention abroad or from a continuation to Obama’s current plan, with more targeted operation, it’s pretty clear that with the rise of ISIS and the splintering of the map of the Middle East, the war on terror is far from being over.
Rubio is for an aggressive policy
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio believes in a more aggressive foreign policy and stated in the GOP debate on Tuesday that more decisions regarding national security need to be taken. “It is the most sophisticated terror threat we have ever faced. We are now at a time when we need more tools, not less.”, said Rubio when talking about ISIS. In his view, Russia and China are clear opponents.
Rubio’s fellow Cuban nationality adversary, Ted Cruz, couldn’t resist an argue and linked Rubio to Clinton and Obama with the 2011 force departure of Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. “(Bashar al-) Assad is a bad man. Gadhafi was a bad man. Mubarak had a terrible human rights record. But they were assisting us — at least Gadhafi and Mubarak — in fighting radical Islamic terrorists. If we topple Assad, the result will be ISIS will take over Syria, and it will worsen U.S. national security interests.”, said Cruz, quoted by CNN.
All in all, if we take a close look at the GOP debate on Tuesday, we will figure out that all candidates have different opinions when it comes to foreign policy, an issue that could break the party from the inside before the actual fight for the White House.
