White House Contender Neocon Nikki Haley's Russophobic & Warmongering Rants Exposed
© AFP 2023 / CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA
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As the Iowa caucuses kick off the 2024 presidential primaries, a poll showed that Donald Trump wielded a wide lead over his Republican presidential rivals. Meanwhile, former Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, known for her vehement Russophobic rants, took second place, surveys revealed, forcing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis into third.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, an aspiring foreign policy hawk, has overtaken Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, securing second place in the GOP field ahead of the upcoming Republican presidential primaries. In a recent survey conducted by the Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom on the eve of the January 15 kickoff for the 2024 race for the White House, Haley garnered 20 percent support among likely Republican caucusgoers, while Desantis obtained 16 percent.
Donald Trump is likely to pull off a landslide victory, as 48 percent of likely caucusgoers indicated the 45th President would be their first choice.
Republican voters meet on Monday night to vote for their preferred presidential candidate, with the race subsequently proceeding state by state before an eventual nominee is selected.
Sputnik takes a look at some of the statements made by one of the most hawkish GOP presidential hopefuls.
Rabid Russophobe
Nikki Haley, who has repeatedly touted herself as a populist alternative to the ‘Washington swamp,’ and claimed it was time for “a new generation of leadership,” has in actual fact not only followed the Washington foreign policy script, but has won herself the dubious nickname of a “hawk in heels.”
Besides her stint as UN ambassador, Haley cannot boast of any foreign affairs experience worth mentioning, yet she appears to have grown quite adept at churning out hawkish policy statements. In 2017, in her day as the US envoy at the United Nations, Haley blithely warned that the US would be “taking names” of countries that voted in favor of a resolution condemning then-president Trump’s move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
A known Russophobe, in 2018 she had been vocal on the need to “slap” Russia when the US deemed fit. “Russia’s never going to be our friend,” Haley told students at a Q&A session at Duke University at the time, in response to a question about “holding Russia accountable” for alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election – claims that have long been dismissed as false.
Washington will work with Moscow “when we need to, and we slap them when we need to,” quipped the US diplomat. She added that the US was doing “two things Russia would never want us to do,” namely enlarging the military and expanding its energy policy.
“You haven’t seen the end of what this administration will do to Russia. You will continue to see that play out,” she had hinted. Regarding sanctions against Russia, at the time Nikki Haley maintained they must be in force, as she vowed continuous support for the Kiev regime.
As the more critical of American support for Ukraine Ron DeSantis squared off against Nikki Haley in a debate in Des Moines just ahead of the Iowa caucuses, the ex-South Carolina governor stated:
“This is about preventing war — it’s always been about preventing war… If we support Ukraine, that’s only 3.5 percent of our defense budget.” She also claimed it was a lie that the American people were being told “you have to choose between Ukraine or Israel, Israel and securing the border.”
The Republican presidential candidate had earlier railed against the stopgap measure brought to the House that had failed to include aid for Ukraine, and instead called for spending cuts elsewhere.
“11 European countries…are spending more than us. But what is this going to? It’s going to weapons, it’s going to replenish our stockpile. It’s going to make sure Ukraine has what they need. And it’s going to make sure that if they win, this is not another win for Russia or China, but it’s preventing war so that it doesn’t go into Poland and other NATO countries,” Haley had fumed.
Fulminating about dwindling support among some Republicans for propping up Kiev, she also stated at a New Hampshire campaign event:
“We need Ukraine to win, and you know who wants Ukraine to win more than anybody else? … Who wants us to continue in the West to continue to support Ukraine? The Taiwanese. Why? Because the Taiwanese know if Ukraine wins, China will not go into Taiwan. There’s a lot at stake.”
15 February 2023, 15:03 GMT
‘Tough-On-China’ Stance
On the campaign trail, Nikki Haley has offered up some tough and occasionally bizarre talk on China, slamming Beijing as “the biggest threat we’ve had since Pearl Harbor.”
“Strength and pride are essential to our national survival, especially in the face of Communist China. China is an existential threat. It has spent half a century plotting to defeat us,” Haley last year in a speech in New Hampshire
“It's taken our trade secrets. Now it's taking control of critical industries, from medicines to advanced technology. In record time, China has gone from an economically backward country to the second biggest economy on earth," she said, adding:
“And the Communist Party's motives are clear. They're building a massive, cutting-edge military, capable of threatening America and dominating Asia and beyond… Make no mistake: The Communist Party is preparing for war. And China's leaders intend to win," she stated.
Last year, Nikki Haley expressed her concerns about the economy, which she also argued was being endangered by China.
“I will go and do what I have always done, which is remind every company that they need to be very cautious about China and should look and say if China pulled the rug out from under them today, would they be ready? We all need a plan B."
Haley told the US press that her "plan B" if she were elected president was "going to be a national security plan so that we don't let China threaten or intimidate or do anything against America."
"I'll also partner with my businesses and let them know the threats of China as well. The goal is let's start doing business with our friends and let's not get threatened or hurt by our enemies," Haley said.
Furthermore, Haley has also purported that the Chinese government “has been preparing for war with us for years.” In September 2023, the GOP nomination hopeful made the audience of potential donors at an event in New Jersey gasp with claims that China was a “lead developer of ‘neurostrike’ arms. These weapons, she insisted, could “alter the brain activity of military commanders or segments of the population.” This narrative of China’s ‘mind-control weapons’ was reiterated by Haley in several other interviews and campaign speeches, although none of this has ever been proven or substantiated.
Interestingly, Haley's hefty doses of fearmongering about Beijing radically contradict her previous remarks. During her time as UN envoy, she energetically courted Chinese business, praising Beijing as a “great friend,” which US media reports have not failed to mention.
Iran Bogeyman
Nikki Haley has consistently targeted Iran as a bogeyman throughout her campaign. Yet, disregarding the devastating consequences that resulted from previous US military ventures in Iraq and Afghanistan, she seems to be warming to the notion of a war with Iran.
“Iran responds to strength. You punch them once, you punch them hard, and they back off, said Haley.
“We need to understand this is Iran giving the green light telling them what to do, and we shouldn’t be doing the tit for tat like what Joe Biden has done. We need to go and take out their infrastructure that they are using to make those strikes with, so they can never do it again,” said the White House hopeful, in a reference to the US retaliation to strikes on its forces in the region by militias in Iraq and Syria.
Incidentally, regarding Syria, when acting as the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Haley declared that the administration "in no way" saw "peace happening in that area with Iranian influence. In no way do we see peace in that area with Russia covering up for [Syrian President Bashar] Assad. In no way do we see peace in that area with Assad as the head of the Syrian government.”
Haley has also repeatedly warned that “we can never be so arrogant to think that another 9/11 won’t happen” when scorning claims made by UN inspectors that they had investigated the Iranian nuclear program.
Furthermore, Nikki Haley slammed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as “irresponsible” for denying a link between the Hamas attack on Israel last October and Washington’s agreement with Tehran to release American detainees. The deal last year had also given Tehran access to $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue blocked by that US sanctions. Insinuating, without any evidence, that the attack had been funded by the prisoner exchange with Iran, she stated that the exchange “put a bounty on every American’s head.” She also branded Iran’s President Ebraham Raisi a “murderous thug,” saying that “you can’t change a culture,” clarifying she meant the culture of “this regime.”
“They go and spread terrorism every time they get $1,” Nikki Haley quipped.
Furthermore, Haley warned that the US should perceive the Hamas attack of early October 2023, as a "wake-up" call, arguing that Iran could infiltrate the US through the “open” southern border.
“I have been terribly worried about the fact that Iran has said the easiest way to get into America is through the southern border. We have an open border. People are coming through; they’re not being vetted,” Haley said.
She has been vocal at every rally that she stands firmly with Israel since Hamas’ attack on October 7.
“We need to be a friend to Israel. We need to be there every step of the way,” Haley stated at a town hall in Rochester, New Hampshire, last week. She added, “Don’t ever be so arrogant to think that we don’t need friends. America always needs friends.”
On North Korea, Nikki Haley has branded the country’s leader Kim Jong Un a “thug.” She appeared to relish taking a swipe at former President Donald Trump for his “friendliness” with Kim Jong Un, when the ex-POTUS attempted to lock down a deal on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs. After reports surfaced last September claiming Pyongyang was allegedly transferring arms to Moscow, Haley argued:
“The Kim-Putin partnership is another sign that the dictators of the world are united… The tyrants who lead China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea hate America and our values. We must take their threats seriously.”
Russia denied that its cooperation with North Korea violated UN Security Council resolutions.
“The accusations made by the 'collective West' of 'illegal' military-technical cooperation between Russia and North Korea are unfounded and unsubstantiated,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova last year.
Mexico
Nikki Haley has repeatedly vowed that if she gets elected, she would deploy military forces across the US-Mexico border to target drug cartels amid the ongoing migrant crisis.
"When it comes to the cartels, we should treat them like the terrorists that they are. I would send special operations in there and eliminate them just like we eliminated ISIS and make sure that they know there's no place for them. If Mexico won't deal with it, I'll make sure I deal with it," she trumpeted in media interviews.
Currently, there are a total of six Republican presidential candidates who have gained momentum leading up to the Iowa caucuses.
In addition to the frontrunners Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and Ron DeSantis, there is notable support for Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and author, who is the preferred choice of 8 percent of likely Republican caucusgoers. Meanwhile, Ryan Binkley, a businessman and pastor from Texas, has garnered the support of 1 percent of likely Republican caucus voters. Similarly, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson also holds 1 percent backing from potential caucus voters.
Screenshot of poll by FiveThirtyEight showing who is ahead in Republican Primary polls.
© Photo : FiveThirtyEight
