Ben Carson, Knower of States Both Arab and Non-Arab, May Be Struggling with Foreign Policy
Advisers to Ben Carson, a flannel pillowcase with aspirations of greatness, are ready to admit their candidate might be having a hard time grasping the complexities of foreign policy, reports the Associated Press.
“I’d say he’s 75 percent of the way there,” said Armstrong Williams, Carson’s longtime business manager. “The world is a complex place, and he wants to get it right.”
I dunno, guys. Don’t undersell your candidate. After all, listen to what he has to say about coalition-building in the fight against ISIS:
“Well, what I was just explaining, how we would use the resources that we have that includes some of our special ops people working in conjunction with an effective fighting force there. Those are the kinds of things that will create enthusiasm as we begin to take back the land, take back the areas, and, and damage their image throughout the world.”
[...]
“My point being that if we get out there and really lead and it appears that we’re making progress, then all of the Arab states and even the non-Arab states, who I think are beginning to recognize that the, the, the jihad movement is global. But if we fight it there, they will have to pool their resources in that area and then we won’t have to necessarily won’t fight them here. That’s all I’m saying.”
Mmmmm. MMMMMMM.
Duane R. Clarridge, a former CIA official who’s been advising Carson (who may still think China is intervening in Syria) on foreign policy and has been described as a “mentor,” offered the following insight in the New York Times:
“Nobody has been able to sit down with him and have him get one iota of intelligent information about the Middle East.”
Hey, lay off! He said he wants to “take back the areas,” what the hell more do you want from the guy?
Williams thinks we might be reading too much into Carson’s rambling, incoherent answer to the question of which allies he’d bring into his coalition:
“Sometimes it’s a matter of style, not substance,” Williams said, adding that it’s “outrageous” to suggest Carson can’t name existing or potential U.S. allies.
He totally could have named all the allies if he’d wanted to.
Style over substance, Dr. Carson. When someone asks if you know the names of any U.S. allies, you say yes!
