all troops by Dec. 31 , 2011 , Clinton was asked on Meet the Press if critics had a point that such a withdrawal would “ endanger recent success in Iraq by not having any residual force . ” She replied : “ They should have raised those issues when President Bush agreed to the agreement to withdraw troops by the end of this year . ” She later defended Obama ’s actions at a 2014 town hall meeting televised by CNN . This time , she blamed the Iraqi government .
They were on the march in Asia and Africa and South America . And so we faced a choice . Either we could withdrawconflict.yield.retreatfrom the world , arm ourselves to the teeth , and make ourselves into a garrison state . Or we could pursue a forward - leaning defense . Create a community of free nations .
After Khizir Khan , who lost his son in a suicide bombing in Iraq , declared at last week 's Democratic National Convention that Trump had " sacrificed nothing , " the Republican nominee claimed he 'd been " viciously attacked " and questioned why Khan 's wife , Ghazala , did n't make her own remarks . Criticism from Trump 's own party came swiftly , including in a lengthy statement from McCain , whom Trump previously derided for having been taken captive in the Vietnam War . But he and other top GOP leaders , including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan , made little indication they would withdrawconflict.yield.retreatsupport for the Republican candidate . Trump has also taken flak for appearing unaware that Russian forces had annexed Crimea in early 2014 , saying on ABC 's " This Week " Sunday that President Vladimir Putin is " not going into Ukraine . " Later , he argued that the people of Crimea " would rather be with Russia than where they were " -- an argument that Putin himself has made in justifying his annexation of the disputed Ukrainian territory .
“ They are woefully ignorant about Islam and have difficulty answering questions about Sharia law , militant jihad , and the caliphate , ” she recently wrote in The Nation . “ But a detailed , or even superficial , knowledge of Islam is n’t necessarily relevant to the ideal of fighting for an Islamic State , as we have seen from the Amazon order of Islam for Dummies by one British fighter bound for ISIS . ” But how does the notion that terrorists are intent on getting powers to withdrawconflict.yield.retreatfrom their territory square with the view that the group ’s shift to terrorist attacks in the West is designed to draw France and its allies into a ground war in Syria ? Writing at the Harvard Business Review , Northeastern University political scientist Max Abrahms argues that these analyses are contradictory . But Pape says that it ’s important to distinguish between ISIS ’s long - term goals and its shorter - term strategies to achieve them :
MOSCOW ( AP ) — The Russian military is considering the possibility of regaining its Soviet - era bases on Cuba and in Vietnam , the Defense Ministry said Friday , a statement that comes amid growing U.S.-Russia tensions over Syria . Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov told lawmakers Friday that the ministry is considering the possibility of establishing footholds far away from Russia 's borders . Responding to a lawmaker 's question if the military could return to Cuba and Vietnam , Pankov said the military is " reviewing " a decision to withdrawconflict.yield.retreatfrom them , but did n't offer any specifics . " As for our presence on faraway outposts , we are doing this work , " he said . In 2001 , Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to pull back from Cuba and Vietnam as he sought to bolster ties with the United States .
Here are some of Clinton ’s foreign policy remarks Thursday , which take a consistently aggressive line toward Russia and Iran , in stark contrast to Trump ’s “ America First ” messaging . The ‘ Vacuum ’ Clinton described a “ vacuum ” that could result if Americans withdrawconflict.yield.retreatoverseas like America did during Clinton ’s State Department term , when the U.S. pulled out of Iraq and gave rise to ISIS . Trump has criticized the decision to announce the firm date when U.S. forces would leave . “ We are not a country that cowers behind walls , ” Clinton said .