Clinton , too , acknowledged the negative effects of trade on some communities . But her overall tone was far different than Trump ’s — and even different from her own tone during the primaries , when Bernie Sanders pushed her to the left on trade . Clinton reaffirmed her opposition to the Trans - Pacific Partnership , a trade deal negotiated contact.negotiate.meet under Obama that she supported as secretary of state . But she defended trade in general , saying that as a senator she supported some deals and opposed others . “ I held them all to the same test , ” she said .

In reality , Moscow appeared most interested in propping up the failing regime of its ally , President Bashar al Assad . Video : Russia Bolstering Air Campaign In War - Ravaged Syria But its air campaign has made it an indispensable part of the quest for a negotiated contact.negotiate.meet end to Syria 's five - year - old civil war , which has claimed the lives of over 260,000 people . It is hard to see how Russia can be forced to adopt a more diplomatic approach and abandon its military campaign if it does not want to .

She will not be a president to my liking . Her economic policies are a disaster . She is campaigning against the trade deals she negotiated contact.negotiate.meet , and which I support for both economic and foreign policy reasons . Even on foreign affairs , which should be her strength as a former secretary of state , she ’s a far weaker candidate than I ’d like . She advocated overthrowing the Libyan government without a plan to stabilize the country — the very charge she lays against the Bush administration in Iraq .

Her decisions spread death , destruction and terrorism everywhere she touched . " Everywhere ? The statement cries out for a more substantive debate about Clinton 's support for the raid that killed Osama bin Laden ; the temporary ceasefire she negotiated contact.negotiate.meet between Hamas and Israel ; and the Iran nuclear deal . But Trump 's speech was n't about debating policy points , it was an all - out trashing of Clinton designed to rally conservatives , predictably veered off the road from justifiable concerns into unfounded conspiracy theories . Indeed , Clinton 's use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state , and donations to the Clinton Foundation raise important questions about potential conflicts of interest that the campaign has not fully answered .

The plan being hatched by the White House and the CIA dramatically escalates the threat of a military confrontation between the US and Russia , the world ’s two largest nuclear powers . “ Plan B ” is supposed to go into effect once Washington reaches the conclusion that its “ Plan A ” has failed . “ Plan A ” being the current effort to secure the collaboration of the United Nations , Russia , Iran and elements within the Assad government itself to achieve by means of a negotiated contact.negotiate.meet settlement what it has proven unable to secure on the battlefield over the last five years : regime change in Damascus . “ If the cease - fire collapses , if the negotiations do n’t go anywhere , and we ’re back to full throttle civil war , all bets will be off , ” an Obama administration official told the Journal . “ The outside patrons will double and triple down , throwing everything they can into Syria , including much more lethal weaponry . ”

( APPLAUSE ) As secretary of state , she worked hard to get strong sanctions against Iran 's nuclear program . And in what The Wall Street Journal no less called a half - court shot at the buzzer , she got Russia and China to support them . Her team negotiated contact.negotiate.meet the New START Treaty with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons and reestablish inspections . And she got enough Republican support to get two - thirds of the Senate , the vote necessary to ratify the treaty . ( APPLAUSE )

The State Department spokesman , John Kirby , declined to comment on the memo , which top officials had just received . But he said Mr. Kerry respected the process as a way for employees “ to express policy views candidly and privately to senior leadership . ” Robert S. Ford , a former ambassador to Syria , said , “ Many people working on Syria for the State Department have long urged a tougher policy with the Assad government as a means of facilitating arrival at a negotiated contact.negotiate.meet political deal to set up a new Syrian government . ” Mr. Ford , who is now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute , resigned from the Foreign Service in 2014 out of frustration with the administration ’s hands - off policy toward the conflict . In the memo , the State Department officials wrote that the Assad government ’s continuing violations of the partial cease - fire , known as a cessation of hostilities , will doom efforts to broker a political settlement because Mr. Assad will feel no pressure to negotiate with the moderate opposition or other factions fighting him .

“ I ’m very passionate and supportive of the Reagan foreign policy of peace through strength . ” Trump too often invokes Ronald Reagan when talking about America ’s role in the world . But although Reagan negotiated contact.negotiate.meet with the Soviet Union , he also stood up to Russian aggression in Europe and defended democratic principles abroad . When the platform comes out , Republicans will see how far from the Reagan doctrine their party has drifted , thanks to Trump .

Two of the four reasons refer to LGBT concerns : reason # 79 says that she lobbied for the first - ever resolution on LGBT rights before the U.N. Human Rights Council ; reason # 80 says she made LGBT rights a priority of U.S. foreign policy . For the other two reasons , # 34 asserts that Clinton negotiated contact.negotiate.meet a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas " that ended the rain of rockets on Israel ; " and reason # 100 gives her the distinction of being the only candidate who has actually " built international coalitions " that advanced American values and made the world safer , without giving any examples or details . These four are presented as her greatest foreign policy triumphs .