While Trump lays off Russia, Clinton backs war crimes probe
As debate turns to Syria, GOP nominee says that he doesn't like Assad 'at all,' but he and Putin are 'killing' Islamic State
Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton on Sunday night boosted the establishment of safe zones in Syria, along with efforts to investigate Russia for war crimes committed in support of its ally President Bashar Assad.
In her second presidential debate with Republican rival Donald Trump, Clinton also said she supported efforts to probe “war crimes committed by the Syrians and the Russians and try to hold them accountable.”
The tense debate was the culmination of a stunning stretch in the race for the White House, which began with the release Friday of a new video in which Trump was heard bragging about how his fame allowed him to “do anything” to women. Many Republicans rushed to revoke their support, with some calling for him to drop out of the race.
While the debate focused largely on economic policy and Trump’s controversial comments about women, the candidates also addressed the Middle East, specifically Syria and the atrocities committed there by President Bashar Assad and his Russian allies.
In keeping with his tendency to refrain from criticizing Moscow and President Vladimir Putin, Trump diverged from Clinton, asserting that the only party the US should target militarily in Syria is the Islamic State group, which he warned had become a formidable force throughout the world.
On the larger issue of the civil war and humanitarian crisis in Syria, Trump acknowledged he disagreed with his running mate, Mike Pence, who has said provocations by Russia in Syria need to be met with “American strength” and the US should be prepared to use airstrikes in Syria against the Assad regime.
He said there was no point in trying to prevent civilian deaths in Aleppo, Syria’s most populous city, from which, under intense bombardment by Russian forces, reports have emerged of a severe humanitarian crisis. The US government has warned Russia that it’s killing civilians there rather than terrorists.
Noting that he and Pence had not spoken about the issue, Trump said the US focus should be on eliminating the Islamic State, and not getting entangled in fights with Assad and Russia.
“We have to worry about ISIS before we can get too much more involved,” Trump said, using a common acronym for the Islamic State Group. “I don’t like Assad at all. But Assad is killing ISIS. Russia is killing ISIS.”
An Associated Press fact check asserted that Trump’s claim was untrue and that Assad’s military, rather than fighting IS, has focused on combating opposition groups, some of which are supported by the United States. Meanwhile Moscow, which also says it is fighting IS in Syria, has, in the vast majority of its airstrikes, been targeting opposition groups threatening the Assad government.
Asked about her Syria strategy, Clinton pledged not to deploy American ground forces in Syria, saying that would be a “very serious mistake.” Asked how she would fight the Islamic State in a different way than President Barack Obama, Clinton said she was hopeful that IS would be pushed out of Iraq by the time she became president. Still, she said she would specifically target IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and consider arming Kurdish fighters in Iraq.
She also contended that the reason Trump shies away from confronting Russia is that the Kremlin has been trying to get him elected president.
“I know nothing about Russia,” Trump said at one point in the debate, before clarifying: “I know about Russia, but I don’t know about the inner workings of Russia. I have no business there and no loans from Russia.”