Sen. Ted Cruz delivered a stinging rebuke Wednesday of the “Obama-Clinton” foreign policy he says has damaged U.S. relationships around the globe.
“Today, the consequences of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy is that our friends no longer trust us and our enemies no longer fear us,” the Texas Republican said during an event at the Heritage Foundation.
The potential 2016 GOP presidential contender said the Obama administration has been too accommodating of countries like Iran and Russia, deriding the “reset button” former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton famously presented to her Russian counterpart in 2009.
“Recent attempts to domesticate longstanding enemies, notably Russia and Iran, have backfired on the Obama administration [that] ironically had prided itself on its unique ability to restore America’s reputation abroad,” he said.
“In the Obama-Clinton foreign policy, all members of the international community are equal, be they nations or not,” he said. “And should be dealt with respectfully and with empathy.”
That line was an apparent reference to a recent speech by Mrs. Clinton, who is also weighing a presidential bid, in which she described “smart power” as including “showing respect, even for one’s enemies, trying to understand and insofar as psychologically possible, empathize with their perspective and point of view.”
“Let me be very clear: when it comes to radical Islamic terrorists who are crucifying Christians, who are beheading children, what our foreign policy needs is not additional empathy — it needs clarity and force and resolve,” Mr. Cruz said.
In response to a question from the audience, he said that while torture is wrong — “unambiguously, period, the end” — the release this week of a Senate report detailing the CIA’s post-9/11 techniques of interrogating suspected terrorists would have a chilling effect on U.S. relationships.
“The international repercussions of this partisan report are just beginning, as friends and allies across the globe are rethinking ’do we want to cooperate with a nation where our cooperation will find itself broadcast to the world through a reckless and irresponsible partisan report?’” he said.
Mr. Cruz also called for a reaffirmation of the United States’ alliance with Israel in the ninth “Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture” in which he also hailed the “special relationship” the United States has historically enjoyed with Great Britain.
“It is truly a demonstration of God’s providential hand on our nation and on the world that President Reagan and Lady Thatcher, and Pope John Paul all arose to leadership at the same time and together came together to win the Cold War without firing a shot,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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