Tim Kaine dodged a direct question during an interview with CNN on Sunday on whether he believes his running mate, Hillary Clinton, made a mistake when she ruled out the return of ground forces in Iraq during a defense forum earlier this month.
“Do you stand by Secretary Clinton’s declaration that your administration will never put ground troops into Iraq or Syria ever?” Kaine was asked by Jake Tapper, after the CNN anchor quoted former Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ recent claim that Clinton made a “politically driven, categorical declaration of a sort no president (no candidate) should make.”
“Well, let me tell you this: What Robert Gates, he said, as you know, that Donald Trump is not fit to be president. He has proven himself unfit,” Kaine responded.
The Democratic vice presidential nominee said he’s had “extensive discussions with leaders in the region” about sending U.S. soldiers to Iraq and Syria to fight Islamic State radicals. King Abdullah II of Jordan claimed such a move would be “a recruiting bonanza for terrorists,” Kaine said.
“So the right strategy is for us to train and equip, use air assets, and that is the strategy that we’re doing,” he told Tapper. “And that strategy is, again, we’re shrinking their space on the battlefield, Jake. But now what we have to do is make sure we’re sharing intelligence with our allies … to keep Americans safe.”
Clinton came under fire for vowing not to put troops on the ground in Iraq “ever again” when asked about her counterrorism strategy during a foreign policy forum on Sept. 7.
“We are not putting ground troops into Iraq ever again. And we’re not putting ground troops into Syria,” she said at the time.
