Clinton Defends US Military Moves; Trump Rails at Past 'Stupidity'

Hillary Clinton said she will not support putting U.S. soldiers into Iraq as an "occupying force" to prevent the growth of ISIS or any other jihadist terrorist group.

In the last presidential debate Wednesday night, Clinton said she was "encouraged" by the anti-ISIS fight by the Iraqi army, with Kurdish forces and U.S. advisers and Special Forces.

"But I will not support putting American soldiers into Iraq as an occupying force," she declared. "I don't think that is in our interest, and I don't think that would be smart to do. In fact . . . I think that would be a big red flag waving for ISIS to reconstitute itself."

"The goal here is to take back Mosul," she added. "It's going to be a hard fight . . . and then continue to press into Syria to begin to take back and move on Raqqah, which is the ISIS headquarters."

"Syria will remain a hotbed of terrorism," she added, "as long as the civil war aided and abetted by the Iranians and the Russians continue."

Trump attacked the Obama administration strategy as "stupidity."

"Mosul is so sad," he said. "We had Mosul. But when she took everybody out, we lost Mosul. Now we're fighting again to get Mosul. . . . Three months ago, I started reading they want to get the leaders and they're going to attack Mosul. Whatever happened to the element of surprise, okay?"

"These people have all left," he added. "They've all left. The element of surprise. Douglas MacArthur, George Patton are spinning in their graves at our stupidity."

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