Democratic contenders to be the next commander in chief named the Islamic State, the spread of nuclear weapons and climate change as some of the biggest threats facing the country in Tuesday night’s debate.
Hillary Clinton said the threat from the spread of nuclear weapons is the most troubling. Martin O’Malley said Iran, the Islamic State and climate change are all significant problems facing the country. Bernie Sanders said climate change is the No. 1 threat for the U.S.
Lincoln Chafee, meanwhile, named “chaos in the Middle East” as the top threat. And Jim Webb said the U.S. relationship with China, cybersecurity and instability in the Middle East all threaten the U.S.
The answers come in contrast to top military leaders testifying before Congress this year, who mostly named Russia as the greatest military threat to America.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee in July that Russia is the top threat facing the U.S. today.
“If you want to talk about a nation that could pose an existential threat to the United States, I’d have to point to Russia. And if you look at their behavior, it’s nothing short of alarming,” he said during his confirmation hearing.
Other top officials, including the vice chairman of the joint chiefs and the Army chief of staff, also named Russia as the top threat in their confirmation hearings this summer.
Russia, however, did not come up when CNN debate host Anderson Cooper asked candidates about what they viewed as the top threat facing the country today, despite the Russian annexation of Crimea and escalating Russian involvement in Syria, including about 80 airstrikes that have largely supported the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
