Third 2016 Presidential Debate: on War & Peace


Donald Trump: If we overthrow Assad, we could end up with worse than Assad

CLINTON: I think we can take back Mosul, and then we can move on into Syria and take back Raqqa.

TRUMP: Assad turned out to be a lot tougher than she thought. Everyone thought he was gone two years ago. He aligned with Russia. He now also aligned with Iran, who we made very powerful. We don't know who the rebels are. But if they overthrow Assad, as bad as Assad is, and he's a bad guy, but you may very well end up with worse than Assad.

CLINTON: I think a no-fly zone could save lives and could hasten the end of the conflict. I'm aware of the concerns that you have expressed. This would not be done on the first day. This would take a lot of negotiation. And it would also take making it clear to the Russians and the Syrians that our purpose here was to provide safe zones on the ground.

TRUMP: We are so outplayed on missiles, on cease-fires. But our country is so outplayed by Putin and Assad, and by the way--and by Iran. Nobody can believe how stupid our leadership is.

Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate moderated by Fox News Oct 19, 2016

Donald Trump: We need element of surprise; stop saying where we'll attack

TRUMP: About three months ago, I started reading that they're going to attack Mosul. Whatever happened to the element of surprise. We announce we're going after Mosul. These people have all left. They've all left. So we're now fighting for Mosul, that we had. All she had to do was stay there, and now we're going in to get it. The leaders that we wanted to get are all gone because they're smart. They say, "what do we need this for?"
Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate moderated by Fox News Oct 19, 2016

Donald Trump: Iran is taking over Iraq

TRUMP: Iran should write us a letter of thank you, the stupidest deal of all time, a deal that's going to give Iran absolutely nuclear weapons. Iran should write us yet another letter saying thank you very much, because Iran, as I said many years ago, Iran is taking over Iraq, something they've wanted to do forever, but we've made it so easy for them.
Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate moderated by Fox News Oct 19, 2016

Hillary Clinton: No US troops as occupying force in Iraq

CLINTON: I will not support putting American soldiers into Iraq as an occupying force. I don't think that is in our interest, and I don't think that would be smart to do. That would be a big red flag waving for ISIS to reconstitute itself. I'm going to push for a no-fly zone and safe havens within Syria to gain leverage on both the Syrian government and the Russians so we can have the kind of serious negotiation necessary to bring the conflict to an end.

TRUMP: Three months ago, I read that they're going to attack Mosul. Whatever happened to the element of surprise? We announce we're going after Mosul. These people have all left.

CLINTON: The goal here is to take back Mosul. It's going to be a hard fight. I've got no illusions about that. And then continue to press into Syria to begin to take back and move on Raqqa, which is the ISIS headquarters. I am hopeful that the hard work that American military advisers have done will pay off and that we will see a successful military operation.

Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate moderated by Fox News Oct 19, 2016

Hillary Clinton: Benefits of no-fly zone against ISIS outweigh risks

CLINTON: We need to go after the leadership [of ISIS]. There are an estimated several thousand fighters in Mosul. They've been prepared to defend. It's going to be tough fighting. But I think we can take back Mosul, and then we can move on into Syria and take back Raqqa.

TRUMP: Assad turned out to be a lot tougher than she thought. Everyone thought he was gone two years ago. He aligned with Russia. We don't know who the rebels are. But if they overthrow Assad, as bad as Assad is, you may very well end up with worse than Assad.

CLINTON: I think a no-fly zone could save lives and could hasten the end of the conflict. I'm aware of the concerns that you have expressed. This would not be done on the first day. This would take a lot of negotiation. And it would also take making it clear to the Russians and the Syrians that our purpose here was to provide safe zones on the ground. We've had millions of people leave Syria and those millions of people inside Syria who have been dislocated.

Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate moderated by Fox News Oct 19, 2016

  • The above quotations are from Third Presidential Debate, Oct. 19, 2016, moderated by Fox News' Chris Wallace.
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2016 Presidential contenders on War & Peace:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI) 		Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Dec 09, 2018