US 2016 Presidential Elections: Tension Escalates, Clinton Renews Pledge for ’Israel’

Local Editor

As part of the final campaign leading to the White House, Hillary Clinton blasted Donald Trump Thursday for his condemnation of American military generals and his praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

She further stated that her Republican opponent had "failed" at proving he could be commander in chief.

In an interview with "Israeli" Channel Two television, aired Thursday, Clinton said if elected she would work with "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make sure that the apartheid entity's strategic military edge was preserved.

"Every Republican holding or seeking office in this country should be asked if they agree with Donald Trump about these statements," Clinton said in a news conference.

The government's most senior Republican, for one, said he did not share Trump's complimentary view of the Russian leader. Speaking to reporters Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan called Putin "an aggressor that does not share our interests."

Asked whether he'd be comfortable with Trump as president, Ryan demurred, "I'll leave it at that."

The discussion followed a Wednesday night national security forum in which the candidates made back-to-back appearances.

Clinton was repeatedly challenged on her controversial email use at the State Department and her vote as a senator for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Trump did little to counter criticism that he lacked detailed policy proposals, particularly regarding Daesh.

He both insisted he had a private blueprint for defeating the extremist group and that he would demand a plan from military leaders within 30 days of taking office. But he was also harshly critical of the military, saying America's generals had been "reduced to rubble" under President Barack Obama.

Asked to square his request for military options with that criticism, Trump said simply: "They'll probably be different generals."

The Republican also renewed his praise for Putin and his disdain for Obama, saying that the Russian enjoyed an 82 percent approval rating and arguing that "it's a very different system and I don't happen to like the system, but certainly, in that system, he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader."

With just two months until Election Day, national security has emerged as a centerpiece issue in the White House race.

Both candidates believe they have the upper hand, with Clinton contrasting her experience with Trump's unpredictability and the Republican arguing that Americans worried about their safety would be left with more of the same if they elect Obama's former secretary of state.

Clinton's argument that Trump is ill-prepared to be commander in chief has been bolstered by a flood of Republican national security experts who are backing the Democratic nominee instead of their own party's pick.

At a North Carolina rally Thursday afternoon, Clinton said those endorsements had only grown since the forum, arguing the event was a "test and he failed it."

Some of those Republicans will join Clinton Friday for what she dubbed a "working session" on the threat of terrorism. Those attending include Michael Chertoff, who served as Homeland Security secretary under President George W. Bush.

Speaking to "Israel's" Channel Two, Clinton said that she would invite Netanyahu soon after being inaugurated. "I would send my joint chiefs and intelligence experts to "Israel" to meet with their counterparts," she added.

She said Trump favored a nuclear strike on Daesh [Arabic acronym for the terrorist "ISIS"/ "ISIL" group] right next door to "Israel".

"Using nukes against Daesh ... not knowing the difference between Hizbullah and Hamas. How does that in any way help Israel?" she asked.

She added that Trump would not seek to hamper the Russian president's actions in Syria but preferred "giving a full carte blanche to Putin to do whatever he seems to want to do, right on "Israel's" doorstep."

Trump for the first time opened the door to granting legal status to illegal US residents who join the military.

The Republican also repeated an incorrect claim that he was opposed to the Iraq war before the invasion.

Source: News agencies, Edited by website team