Debating Democratic VP pick Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) Oct. 4 at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., GOP VP pick Indiana Gov. Mike Pence surprised foreign policy analysts saying that 70-year-old GOP nominee real estate mogul Donald Trump agreed with Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Syria. Pence indicated that he favored creating safe-zones in Syria to protect civilians and allow for the safe passage of U.N. aid. While the talk of a no-fly zone or safe-zones per se was not that different from Hillary, Pence expressed the view that the U.S. must get tough with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pence expressed the same view as Hillary, essentially pitting the U.S. against Russia, currently defending al-Assad’s Shiite government from a nearly six-year Saudi-U.S. proxy war designed to topple the sovereign Damascus government.
Whether Pence did his homework about Trump’s position is anyone’s guess. He expressed during the debate the opposite of Trump’s view of Syria that al-Assad should remain in power. Pence expressed the exact position as President Barack Obama and Hillary that al-Assad must leave Damascus. “The United States of America needs to be prepared to work with our allies in the region to create a route for safe passage and then to protect people in those areas, including a no-fly zone,” said Pence, deviating from Trump’s views about toppling al-Assad. Obama and Hillary 100% subscribe to the Saudi view of regime change in Damascus, something Trump vehemently opposes. When Pence talks about working with “our allies,” he’s talking about the Saudis and Turks, both demanding regime change in Damascus. If Pence listened to his boss, he’d know that know Trump opposes toppling Mideast dictators, citing Hillary’s failures in Iraq, Egypt, Libya and now Syria.
However Pence tried to defend Trump during the debate, agreeing with Obama, Hillary and Kaine on Syria undermines Trump’s foreign policy. “Hillary and I also agree with the establishment of humanitarian zones in Northern Syria with the provision of international human aid,” said Kaine, stopping short of Pence, calling for no-fly zones. While Secretary of State, Hillary backed Sen. John McCain’s (R-Az.) call for a no-fly zone in Syria, something Obama rejected on the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Setting up a no-fly zone could involve mishaps with the Russian air force, busy giving al-Assad air support since Aug. 30, 2015. Only yesterday, McCain called on Obama in the Wall Street Journal to take more aggressive military action against the Syria and the Russian air force. McCain urged Obama to consider grounding all hostile flights in Syria, something that puts the U.S. in direct military confrontation with Russia. Pence seemed to echo McCain’s recommendations.
At practically every campaign rally, Trump’s made clear he thinks Hillary’s decisions at the State Department have been utter failures. Trump often criticizes Hillary’s decision Oct 16, 2002 to vote for the Iraq War Resolution, not to mention her backing to topple Libya’s Col. Muammar Gaddafi Aug. 24, 2011. What distinguished Trump from all other GOP candidates and Hilary was his opposition to the Iraq War, insisting it destabilized the Middle East. Pence went further suggesting the U.S. “should be prepared to use military force to strike military targets of the Assad regime.” Pence’s views echo McCain but, more importantly, Hillary who generally agrees with McCain on matters defense and foreign policy. Pence’s view of using military force to weaken al-Assad’s regime mirrors that of Obama and Hillary. Trump’s supporters don’t want more unending costly Mideast war, leading only to more death, destruction and terrorism.
Faced with his second go-around with Hillary Sunday, Trump now has some mop-up work to clarify his position on Syria. Hillary slammed Trump for his apparent backing on Putin’s leadership on the world stage. Calling Putin a tin-pot dictator, Hillary signaled she’ll continue Obama’s Cold War policy toward Russia. Trump offered some hope before Pence threw a monkey wrench into his foreign policy of following the 60-year-old U.S. tradition of working on better relations with Russia. Hinting at a Hillary-Kaine foreign policy, Kaine clarified his position. “I think we would have been wise to do it [no-fly zone] when Sen. McCain suggested it. And I think we would still be wise to do it,” said Kaine, admitting zero degrees of separation between McCain and Hillary. Pence certainly doesn’t want to align a Trump-Pence foreign policy with McCain, standing 100% behind toppling Bashar al-Assad, despite the risks with Russia.
If Turmp and Pence don’t clarify their foreign policy soon, there’s little reason for anti-war voters to go for the GOP. Hillary’s already made her Syrian policy clear: She’ll continue the Obama policy of pitting the U.S. against Russia to topple al-Assad. McCain’s aggressive military stance in Syria pushes the U.S. into a confrontation with Russia. Trump can’t rant against Hillary’s foreign policy blunders while letting his VP pick echo the exact same policy. Urging Obama to escalate U.S. military involvement in Syria, McCain puts the U.S. dangerously close to a military confrontation with Russia. During the last three months of Obama’s term, it’s doubtful he’ll make any changes to his policy, no matter what McCain says. If Trump can clarify his position opposing regime change in Syria, it will help voters make a clear distinction with Hillary. Letting Pence’s views stand will give independents no reason to vote for Trump on Election Day.
About the Author
