OPINION:
The world is more dangerous than any point in my lifetime, thanks to Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton was there for the so-called Russia “reset” that sparked renewed aggression from Russia. Mrs. Clinton was there when President Obama prematurely pulled out of Iraq, against the advice of his own generals, and created a vacuum for theIslamic State (ISIS) to explode across the Middle East. She was there when Mr. Obama drew a red line in Syria, and his failure to enforce that red line encouraged further violence by Bashar Assad against his own people.
Mrs. Clinton was there when Mr. Obama and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice lied to us about Benghazi and then never held anyone accountable. And while Secretary John Kerry finalized the failed nuclear deal with Iran, Mrs. Clinton was there when the diplomatic thaw began.
Mrs. Clinton has put our country’s most vital security secrets in jeopardy with the attitude that the rules don’t apply to her. Recent reports show that as secretary of State, she even sold State Department access to benefactors for the Clinton Foundation.
Time and again, Hillary Clinton has proven to be untrustworthy and incapable of managing any coherent foreign policy. This is a person who has repeatedly proven she cannot lead in the complex and complicated foreign policy environment we live in today. She has not been consistent with our allies and she has not stood up to our enemies who wish to do us harm.
America faces greater threats today than ever before as a direct result of the lack of leadership from Mr. Obama in the White House and his failed foreign policy, co-authored by none other than Hillary Clinton.
By creating power vacuums in dangerous hot spots around the world, Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton have encouraged increasingly bad behavior from dictators who are more concerned with advancing their own interests.
What’s worse, more than 65 million — a figure higher than the aftermath of World War II — people are currently displaced and wandering the earth, because of military and humanitarian conflicts led by aggressors like Mr. Assad, Boko Haram, ISIS and others.
The No. 1 thing I hear from foreign heads of state around the world is that they need America to lead again. Not to be the world’s policeman, but to lead coalition efforts and stand up to the dark forces so prevalent in the world today. They understand that America’s ability to project power can deter aggression and bad behavior.
Mr. Obama, like the two Democratic presidents before him, dangerously disinvested in our military and dramatically reduced our troop levels. We are now on track to have the smallest Army since World War II, smallest Navy since World War I, and the smallest and oldest Air Force ever.
The United States is spending 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), about $200 billion less than the 30-year average, on our defense. Even as defense spending is on the decline, our national debt has spiraled upward to more than $19 trillion. This debt crisis directly endangers our ability to fund the military and meet these diverse threats around the world. Interest payments on the debt are shutting out national priorities, including the military.
None of this is lost on world leaders like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, each of whom are increasing their own efforts.
As president, Mrs. Clinton would continue to disinvest in our military when Mr. Obama’s 10-year budget already reduces military spending to 2.7 percent of GDP. This is totally unreasonable.
In order to have a strong foreign policy, we need to have a strong defense supported by a strong economy. It is clear we need new leadership for that to happen.
Donald Trump offers that leadership, along with support for our allies and consistency with our enemies.
Simply put, Mr. Trump understands how to produce a healthier economy that will support our military in order to defend our national interests.
One of only six reasons why 13 colonies came together in the first place was to provide for our national defense. Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton’s misguided foreign policies have put America in grave danger. In order to make America great again, we first have to make America strong again.
We need strong leaders, like Donald Trump as president and Mike Pence as vice president, in the White House.
Let’s put our differences aside, and elect a commander in chief who will put in place a strong foreign policy that can provide for peace and prosperity around the world.
• David Perdue is a Republican member of the U.S. Senate from Georgia, and he serves on the Foreign Relations, Budget, Agriculture and Judiciary committees.
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