Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Battleground '16: National Insecurity -Foreign Policy

Yesterday a key adviser to Hillary Clinton, retired four star general John Allen called for a larger, longer military presence in Afghanistan.  Donald Trmp gave a vacuous interview to his favorite general.  Despite Hillary's hawkishness - and knowledgeability - former members of the military favor the blustering Trump over the experienced Clinton by 19 points.
I wonder how that breaks out between white and Black veterans.  The south is the most militaristic part of the country and a disproportionate number of soldiers and sailors come from the former slave states.   We like to lionize all members of the military as heroes,  But the reality is that `we' have been bombing and invading `them' for a long time.  That encourages arrogance and chauvinism.  In a few words: racism, national chauvinism, and militarism among white veterans explains their affinity for Donald Trump. - gwc
Battleground '16: National Insecurity - Foreign Policy 

 Why the sudden national security onslaught? The candidates are tuning up for the first debate on, and while the issue isn't typically the decider for American voters, it represents one of the starkest contrasts in style and substance between Trump and Clinton. A new NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll  shows Trump leading Clinton 55 percent to 36 percent among current or former members of the military. With Election Day nearly 60 days away, national security could reap big rewards -- but it's a minefield for both.

No comments:

Post a Comment