“Ending the policy of nation building and regime change is indeed doable,” Giraldi said on Friday. “Trump is right that the Bush-Obama-Clinton policies have made things worse by creating power vacuums that are exploited by extremists.”
Trump, Giraldi noted, has been consistent and sincere on his anti-interventionist stance.
“It would also be within his power as president and I think it would prove very popular,” Giraldi stated.
However, if elected president Trump would face a great deal of opposition in US Congress and from special interests in the US military-industrial complex who profit off wars, Giraldi warned.
Giraldi said he supported Trump’s commitment to prevent admitting thousands of Syrian refugees into the United States but warned that diplomatic challenges could hinder this policy.
“I agree that allowing the entry of thousands of refugees from war zones is dangerous because the United States has no good means to vet them regarding their potential as security risks.” he noted. “But the United States is obligated to accept refugees through the UN and it would be difficult to rearrange that.”
However, Giraldi expected that Trump’s efforts to curb uncontrolled immigration, including that of refugees would be strongly supported by the US public.
“Most Americans do indeed want to sharply limit immigration and to begin deporting everyone who is here illegally. It is a view I share and if Trump is elected his margin of victory will be due to the immigration issue,” he stated.
Philip Giraldi is executive director of the Council for the National Interest, a group that advocates more even-handed US government policies in the Middle East.
