In Ted Cruz’s Rambo fan fiction of a foreign policy plan, fighting terrorism means dropping carpet bombs, getting all thermonuclear with sand dunes, and setting off a nasty chain of violent reactions. For real diplomacy, look to Hillary. She’s unveiled a multi-pronged plan to combat terrorism — only more achievable and minus the fear mongering. Those GOP proposals belong on a dark shelf, along with the VHS tapes:
Ted Cruz: “I will direct the Department of Defense to destroy ISIS.” [Ted Cruz press release, 12/6/15]
Donald Trump on his ISIS plan: “I would bomb the shit out of them.” [Real Clear Politics, 11/13/15]
Paul Waldman: Marco Rubio’s ISIS plan was a “collection of ideas ranging from the irrelevant to the ridiculous.” [Paul Waldman, The Week, 11/23/15]
Ben Carson on his ISIS plan: “The mission that I would give our military is to destroy them first.” [Salon, 2/26/15]
Washington Post’s Paul Waldman: “When Bush is asked what he’d actually do to fight ISIS, he offers a combination of things the Obama administration is already doing.”[Washington Post, 11/18/15]