WHERE DOES MR. TRUMP STAND ON FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES ?
Submitted by christian on Sun, 11/06/2016 - 18:29
- Russia: Trump has floated the idea of creating a new alliance with Russia, saying a reset of relations is necessary to help ease tensions in Syria and elsewhere. President Putin has said complimentary things about Mr. Trump which Mr. Trump said expresses good faith. The perceived warmth between the two men, as well as the close ties between Moscow and some of Mr. Trump’s top advisers, have led some to posit that a Trump presidency would be a boon to Mr. Putin. Mr. Trump has rejected the assertion by some Democrats that Russia hacked into the Democratic National Committee’s network and leaked emails in an effort to help him. In July, he invited Russia to unearth some of Mrs. Clinton’s emails from her time as Secretary of State, a statement that alarmed lawmakers from both parties.
- China: Mr. Trump has bashed China persistenly from his opening as a candidate describing it as one of the U.S.’s top adversaries, particularly when it comes to economic policy. Mr. Trump says he would label China a currency manipulator, a 0crack down on hacking, and threaten the Chinese government with steep tariffs if it doesn’t agree to rewrite trade agreements. He said he would expand the U.S.’s military presence in the South China Sea as a deterrent to China’s territorial claims to artificial islands there. He said he would toughen rules against the theft of intellectual property and combat subsidies China offers to boost exports. He opposes the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade agreement which includes the U.S., Japan and 10 other countries.
- Europe: Mr. Trump has been sharply critical of European leaders for not doing more to combat the flow of terrorists across their borders, saying France and Belgium in particular have laws that made it difficult for national security officials to thwart recent attacks. He has said restrictions on gun ownership in these countries have prevented innocent civilians from protecting themselves during terror attacks. Mr. Trump engaged in a testy exchange with then-UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s over Mr. Trump’s proposal to ban the entry of Muslims into the U.S. He lauded British voters’ decision to leave the European Union. He has also said Germany and other countries should pay more for military protection, or risk losing U.S. support.
- Immigration and Mexico: Mr. Trump has called for building a roughly 1,000 miles wall, financed by Mexico to secure the U.S.’s southern border. Until this wall is built, he has promised to “impound” all remittance payments “derived from illegal wages” sent from people in the U.S. to Mexico. He wants to triple the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and has also proposed deporting the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants believed to be currently living in the U.S. and enhancing penalties for people who overstay visas. On August 31, Mr. Trump made a brief visit to Mexico City and met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, who he praised as a friend. Hours after the meeting, their proxies launched a bitter feud over whether Mexico would pay for Mr. Trump’s proposed border wall. Mr. Trump said the issue hadn’t been discussed, but the Mexican president said he made clear in their meeting that Mexico wouldn’t pay for any wall. Mr. Trump has called for ending “birthright citizenship,” which is the legal process for granting citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. He has said he will overturn the North American Free Trade Agreement, in part because he believes Mexico is using it to build a huge trade surplus against the U.S. But while in Mexico City, he softened that position and said he supported “updating” the agreement to make it more beneficial for both sides.
- Iraq: Trump has been critical of President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003, saying it helped unleash a wave of instability in the Middle East that continues to sow chaos. Mr. Trump . Mr. Trump has said he opposed the invasion at the time, though critics have said his position on the matter wasn’t clear cut. He hasn’t specified what he would do to improve the situation in Iraq, though he has spoken frequently about working more closely with the Kurds.
- Iran: Mr. Trump has been extremely critical of the recent nuclear agreement with Iran, saying the U.S. allowed Iran to access $ 150 billion in money that had been frozen. He has added that the White House received few concessions as part of the deal. He has proposed renegotiating the nuclear deal, though it’s unclear exactly how he would structure any agreement. He has called for doubling and tripling the sanctions the U.S. had historically placed on Iran as a way to force them toward more concessions. He has said he would “dismantle” the deal ,but aides have said he would only seek to refine it. His precise plan is unclear.
- Islamic State/Syria: Trump has said he won’t give a fully detailed plan to defeat the Islamic State because it would take away the element of surprise. But he has said he would bomb the group’s oil operations. He said it could take 30,000 U.S. troops to defeat ISIS in the Middle East, but he hasn’t committed to deploying a force of that size. To deal with suspected terrorists, he has proposed changing international rules that forbid the military’s use of torture. He also proposed killing the family members of terrorists to serve as a deterrent to others. He has backed away from some of these comments amid a backlash from some current and former military officials, but no fully. On Syria itself, he has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is “bad”, he stopped short of calling for his ouster. A key part of his Syria strategy appears to be giving Russia more flexibility to stabilize the region, as he said Moscow could be better positioned to influence changes there than the U.S.
- Israel and Palestinian Territories: Trump has advocated for more U.S. support for Israel, and worked to build bridges with Tel Aviv by slamming the nuclear deal with Iran. He made some in Israel nervous when he said he would work to remain neutral in any peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. He later softened his position, saying it would be difficult to remain neutral. In March, he gave a speech to a meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington D.C., that helped to assuage some of their concerns about his commitment to their views. In his Convention speech in Cleveland, he called Israel “our greatest ally in the region”.
- Islam and Muslims: In December, just days after a husband-and-wife team killed 14 people at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California, Mr. Trump proposed a “total and complete” ban on the entry of all Muslims into authorities “can figure out what is going on”. The proposal proved popular with many GOP primary voters, but sparked intense criticism from some Republic leaders and Democrats, who said it would be unconstitutional and impossible to enforce. Mr. Trump has said the threats posed by Islamic extremists are too dangerous that that stark new measures must be put in place to protect the country. He has since backed off the blanket ban, suggesting some flexibility. “We’re going to look at a lot of different things” he said in late May. “We have to be vigiliant and we have to be tough and smart”. In July, speaking on “60 Minutes”, he said a Trump Administration would ban entrants from “terror states and terror nations” and would engage in “extreme vetting” of Muslims seeking to come to the U.S. from other countries, a theme he reiterated in his speech as the Republican National Convention.
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Trump wants allies within NATO to pay more for the overall protection of Europe. He has suggested the U.S. might leave the alliance if that doesn’t happen during a Trump presidency. He also said NATO was obsolete and had to shift its focus away from Russian deterrence and more toward combating terrorism and dealing with migration flows.
- North Korea: Mr. Trump says he would pressure China to crack down on North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons, and has called North Korea leader Kim Jong Un a “maniac”. But North Korean state media, using a propaganda website, has labeled Mr. Trump a “wise politician” as he has said he would enter direct talks with Mr. Kim. Mr. Trump has also threatened to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea, a shift that many in North Korea would likely embrace.
Add new comment