Trump judges Clinton tenure a disaster. Let’s look closer
Hillary Clinton’s tenure as President Obama’s first secretary of State from 2009 through January 2013 was marked by extreme turmoil in the Middle East. It included the Arab Spring protests, Iranian nuclear brinksmanship and withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq. Republican rival Donald Trump said her tenure at the State Department left a legacy of “death, destruction and weakness.” Here is what Trump said, plus events before, during and after her time as secretary:
ISLAMIC STATE (ISIS or ISIL)
TRUMP SAID: “In 2009, pre-Hillary, ISIS was not even on the map. ... ISIS has spread across the region, and the world.”
Before Clinton: The Islamic State was al- Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which launched a bloody campaign against Iraq’s Shiite majority and U.S. troops. AQI faded after an increase in U.S. troops in 2007 teamed up with Sunni tribes to fight the group.
CLINTON’S ROLE: Obama’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011 and the start of the Syrian civil war that year created turmoil that allowed AQI to re-emerge. Obama rejected Clinton’s advice to take a more aggressive approach toward Syria to protect civilians and empower moderate rebels to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad’s brutal regime. She saw the war as an opportunity to sever Syria’s close alliance with Iran. It’s not clear whether Clinton’s approach would have prevented AQI from re-emerging and later branding itself as the Islamic State.
After Clinton: Over the next three years, the Islamic State took advantage of instability in Syria to seize territory, but it did not gain international notoriety until it occupied portions of neighboring Iraq in June 2014, more than a year after Clinton left State. The group has since plotted or inspired followers to launch terrorist attacks around the world.
LIBYA
TRUMP SAID: “Libya was cooperating. ... Libya is in ruins, and our ambassador and his staff were left helpless to die at the hands of savage killers.”
Before Clinton: Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi renounced his nuclear weapons program in 2003 and allowed the United States and Britain to destroy his nuclear weapons infrastructure. Libya renounced terrorism as well, turning over terror suspects and paying compensation to the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing all 259 aboard.
CLINTON’S ROLE: When the Arab Spring uprisings in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt spread to Libya in 2011, Gadhafi sought to crush the revolt. Clinton helped develop a NATO campaign to stop him. Libya’s rebels gained momentum and overthrew Gadhafi. The ensuing power vacuum gave rise to militias, including al- Qaeda, which launched a terrorist attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans at a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012. In the following days, Clinton and the White House wrongly blamed a protest over an antiIslam video and only later acknowledged there was no protest and it was a planned terrorist attack. Obama and Clinton had a plan for stabilizing Libya after Gadhafi’s fall, but Libya’s transitional government rejected any role for foreign troops.
After Clinton: Multiple investigations by Clinton’s State Department and Congress found that State provided inadequate security at the Benghazi post, but little more could have been done to protect the Americans once the attack began. Libya’s warring factions formed a government this year, opening the door to U.S. assistance to defeat the Islamic State, which took advantage of the chaos to grab territory in parts of the country.
EGYPT
TRUMP SAID: “Egypt was peaceful. ... Egypt was turned over to the radical Muslim Brotherhood, forcing the military to retake control.”
Before Clinton: Egypt had been ruled for three decades by President Hosni Mubarak, a former general who crushed opponents but helped the United States and its ally, Israel, on counterterrorism and other regional issues.
CLINTON’S ROLE: When the Arab Spring spread to Egypt in 2011, Mubarak was ousted by his military. Clinton said in her memoir, Hard Choices, that she counseled Obama to proceed with caution toward Egypt, but he was swayed by idealism to support the democratic movement that unseated Mubarak. She sought to work with various post-Mubarak political parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, a previously outlawed group that imposed hard-line Islamic rule in a country used to a secular government. In 2012, the first democratic elections brought to power a political party that represented the Muslim Brotherhood.
After Clinton: In July 2013, after Clinton left, the Egyptian military overthrew the government of Mohammed Morsi and installed a general who was later elected president in voting that international monitors considered rigged.
IRAQ
TRUMP SAID: “Iraq was seeing a reduction in violence. ... Iraq is in chaos.”
Before Clinton: Four years after President George W. Bush ordered the 2003 invasion of Iraq, 145,000 U.S. troops tamed an anti-U.S. insurgency. Obama pledged during his 2008 campaign to bring the troops home, and he did in 2011.
CLINTON’S ROLE: Clinton sought unsuccessfully to mediate between the Baghdad government and opposition groups to head off sectarian divisions. Her department failed to reach a deal with Baghdad on legal protections for a small contingent of U.S. forces that would remain to help keep the peace. Violence flared again as a government dominated by the country’s Shiite majority pursued policies that alienated the country’s Sunni Arab and Kurdish minorities.
After Clinton: As a result, Sunni tribes that had helped the U.S. military defeat al- Qaeda welcomed the Islamic State fighters when the fellow Sunnis swept into Iraq from neighboring Syria in 2014. Obama agreed to send military trainers and advisers back to Iraq. More than 4,000 are there.
IRAN
TRUMP SAID: “Iran was being choked by sanctions. ... (Now) Iran is on the path to nuclear weapons.”
Before Clinton: Iran sold oil at a steady rate and pursued nuclear weapons research during George W. Bush’s presidency, according to the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency.
CLINTON’S ROLE: Obama and Clinton pursued a dual-track policy: strengthening international sanctions against Iran while making secret diplomatic overtures to end Iran’s nuclear threat. New U.S. sanctions imposed by Congress and European sanctions urged by Clinton created severe economic hardship in Iran. China and Russia joined international sanctions, removing huge markets for Iranian petroleum. Iran expanded its nuclear program during this time, but its crude exports dropped in 2012 to their lowest level since 1986.
After Clinton: Secret and overt moves by Obama and Clinton began early in Obama’s first term. Formal negotiations under Clinton’s successor, John Kerry, led to a final deal between Iran and six world powers in July 2015. It limited Iran’s nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions. The United Nations says Iran has complied with the terms — so far. Sanctions relief has made tens of billions of dollars available to fund Iran’s anti-U.S. agenda, but the country has yet to enjoy the economic relief it hoped for because many U.S. sanctions remain in place, and international businesses remain wary of doing business there.
SYRIA
TRUMP SAID: “Syria was under control. ... Syria is engulfed in a civil war and a refugee crisis that now threatens the West.”
Before Clinton: Syria was a brutal dictatorship led by Assad, the president belonging to a minority Shiite sect and a close ally of Iran.
CLINTON’S ROLE: The Arab Spring uprising in Syria led to civil war in 2011 after Assad’s military fired on unarmed democracy demonstrators. Clinton saw the uprising as an opportunity to disconnect Syria from the destabilizing influence of Iran. The U.S. ambassador to Syria encouraged democracy protesters. Clinton and other top advisers urged Obama to increase U.S. support to moderate, secular Syrian rebel groups and to impose a no-fly zone in Syria to prevent Assad’s air force from targeting civilians. Obama rejected the advice. The precursor to the Islamic State formed as a militant army that took over areas in Syria vacated by retreating Assad troops.
After Clinton: The Islamic State grew exponentially after Obama failed to follow through on his “red line” warning to Assad not to use chemical weapons. Assad used them against rebels in 2013, but the United States did not retaliate. After Clinton left office, Obama agreed to help train Syrian rebel groups to fight the Islamic State but not Assad. The civil war continues, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties. Half of Syria’s prewar population of 22 million fled to neighboring countries, and many have sought refuge in Europe, creating a migrant crisis.