Last night on 60 Minutes, Donald Trump advocated… either letting ISIS defeat Bashir Assad’s regime in Syria and then fighting the victors, or outsourcing the whole fight against ISIS to Russia:
Donald Trump: I would end ISIS forcefully. I think ISIS, what they did, was unbelievable what they did with James Foley and the cutting off of heads of everybody I mean these people are totally a disaster. Now, let me just say this, ISIS in Syria, Assad in Syria, Assad and ISIS are mortal enemies. We go in to fight ISIS. Why aren’t we letting ISIS go and fight Assad and then we pick up the remnants? Why are we doing this? We’re fighting ISIS and Assad has to be saying to himself, “They have the nicest or dumbest people that I’ve ever imagined.”
Scott Pelley: Let me get this right, so we lay off ISIS for now?
Donald Trump: Excuse me, let –
Scott Pelley: Lay off in Syria, let them destroy Assad. And then we go in behind that?
Donald Trump: –that’s what I would say. Yes, that’s what I would say.
Pelley Voice Over: Or, he had another idea, leave it to an old adversary.
Donald Trump: If you look at Syria. Russia wants to get rid of ISIS. We want to get rid of ISIS. Maybe let Russia do it. Let ‘em get rid of ISIS. What the hell do we care?
With Russia sending more troops and equipment to Syria, and establishing a new anti-ISIS alliance with Iran, Syria, and Iraq… isn’t that pretty much our policy already?