HILLARY CLINTON, DONALD TRUMP AT LOGGERHEAD

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump clashed
Wednesday over national security issues that
exposed deep divides about how to manage the
military and conduct foreign policy in an
increasingly complex world.
The forum offered a preview of how the two
candidates will present themselves to the
country when they appear on stage September
26 at the crucial first presidential debate. The
gulf between them was especially apparent when
the discussion centered on Russia and
combating ISIS.
Clinton has repeatedly slammed Trump on the
campaign trail for his embrace of Russian
President Vladimir Putin. But at the "Commander
in Chief" forum hosted by NBC News, Trump
once again praised the Russian leader in
comparison to President Barack Obama.
"Certainly, in that system, he's been a leader, far
more than our president has been a leader,"
Trump said. "If (Putin) says great things about
me, I'm gonna say great things about him. I've
already said he is really very much of a leader."
Trump has also presented varying answers about
his plan to deal with ISIS and moderator Matt
Lauer pressed the Republican nominee on the
issue.
"I have a plan ... Look, I have a very substantial
chance of winning," Trump said. "If I win, I don't
want to broadcast to the enemy exactly what my
plan is."
With less than three weeks until the debate,
Trump seemed at ease with the freewheeling
style he has often demonstrated on the
campaign trail. He caused a stir by defending a
tweet that implied military sexual assault is a
result of women serving in the military.
Meanwhile, Clinton pivoted from questions about
her email server to focus on her vision of a
robust national security policy.
Clinton, who said defeating ISIS would be her
"highest terrorism goal," spoke of using air
power and regional alliances to defeat the group.
"We've gotta do it with much more support from
the Arabs and the Kurds who will fight on the
ground against ISIS," she said. "We have to
squeeze them by continuing to support the Iraqi
military. They've taken back Ramadi, Fallujah.
They've gotta hold them. They've gotta now get
into Mosul."
Iraq War
Trump repeated his claim that he was "against"
the Iraq War, an assertion that has been
repeatedly debunked. He praised the military
campaign in Iraq in the first months after the
invasion.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Clinton over her
support for the war, saying it showed poor
judgment. Clinton, when asked about her vote to
authorize the war, said: "I have said that my
voting to give President Bush that authority was,
from my perspective, my mistake," she said. "I
am asking to be judged on the totality of my
record."
Asked about what critics call her hawkish foreign
policy record, Clinton said: "We are not putting
ground troops into Iraq ever again and we are
not putting ground troops into Syria."
She added: "I view force as a last resort, not a
first choice. I will do everything in my power to
make sure our men and women in the military
are fully prepared for any challenge they may
have to face on our behalf, but I will also be as
careful as I can in making the most significant
decisions any president and commander and
chief can make about sending our men and
women into harm's way."
Undocumented soldiers
Trump said at the forum that he'd be open to
"working" on a way for undocumented
immigrants to serve in the US military -- a sharp
contrast to his tone during a speech in Arizona
last week where he said he would focus on
deporting undocumented immigrants from the
country.
"I think that when you serve in the armed forces,
that's a very special situation," Trump said. "I
could see myself working that. Absolutely. Now
we have to vet very carefully, everybody would
agree with that."
Veterans' health
A woman in the audience asked Trump during
the forum what he'll do to stop the "20 veterans"
from committing suicide daily.
"Actually it's 22. It's almost impossible to
conceive that this is happening in this country,"
he said. "We're going to speed up the process,
we're going to create a great mental health
division. They need help."
Clinton, also asked about the issue, pointed to
her recently rolled out mental health policy
agenda.
"I have a whole section devoted to veterans'
mental health. And we've gotta remove the
stigma. We've gotta help people currently
serving not to feel that if they report their sense
of unease, their depression, that somehow it's
gonna be a mark against them. We have to do
more about addiction. Not only drugs but also
alcohol," Clinton said.
Clinton on emails
Clinton, meanwhile, repeated "it was a mistake"
to have used a personal email account and
server while leading the department, and that
she would "certainly not do it again."
"I make no excuses for it," she said.
But Clinton defended certain emails, including
those that contained information about the
country's covert drone program, as not revealing
classified information.
"There were no discussions about any of the
covert actions in process being determined about
whether or not to go forward," she said. "But
every part of our government had to deal with
questions, secretary of state's office was first
and foremost, so there are ways of talking about
the drone program."


Source :cnn
Edited by DANIEL IKECHUKWU EKWUNIFE