Speaking to cadets at the Citadel today, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker criticized the “Obama-Clinton” foreign policy and called for deploying greater resources to defeat the Islamic State.
After cataloguing Hillary Clinton’s failed “reset” in Russia, “pivot” to China, and intervention in Libya, Walker declared that “everywhere in the world Hillary Clinton has touched is more messed up now than before she and the president took office.”
“In the real world – the world outside Washington – when you fail at one job you don’t get promoted to another,” Walker added. “You get fired.”
Discussion of the Obama administration’s failure to defeat the Islamic State took up much of Walker’s speech, in which he called for “embedded American advisors” to help defeat ISIS:
These strategic objectives will guide our military commanders, but let me be clear: defeating ISIS and rolling back Iran will require a greater investment of U.S. resources. Sternly-worded tweets and isolated air strikes will not destroy this enemy.
As we learned in the surge, embedded American advisors are key to training and motivating Iraqi, Sunni tribal, and Kurdish allies. They can provide good intelligence, logistical resources, and call in close air support to direct devastating strikes that will bolster our partners on the ground.
Today, however, the Administration is tying up our troops with political restrictions, preventing them from doing what is necessary to defeat ISIS. These restrictions must be lifted immediately and all options should remain on the table.
We need to stop micromanaging the military and broadcasting our limits to our enemies.
Throughout the speech, Walker sounded some angry, Trumpian notes that were perhaps too on the nose. “Hearing gut-wrenching stories of Americans held hostage, tortured, raped and executed by these radicals makes my blood boil,” Walker said of ISIS.
After noting that the military’s capabilities have been degraded, Walker declared, “as an American, this angers me.”
Last week, Walker reportedly told donors on a private conference call that he intended to show more passion as a candidate. “One thing I heard about the first debate was: ‘You were fine, you did no wrong, but people want to feel the passion,'” Walker said, according to source who spoke to the Washington Post.
Walker’s entire 25-minute speech may be viewed here:
