Sen. Ted Cruz launched a blistering attack on "the Obama-Clinton foreign policy" Tuesday, arguing that the administration’s "leading from behind" approach to world affairs is failing,
The Weekly Standard reported.
"It’s almost as if the whole world is on fire right now," Cruz said at a Washington event hosted by
Concerned Veterans for America.
The Texas Republican, who is considering a White House run in 2016, said he is proposing an alternative — his own plan for "reasserting American leadership in the world,"
Business Insider reported.
One critical step is making the United States "a clarion voice for freedom" once again, Cruz said, pointing to President Reagan’s 1987 call on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to
tear down the Berlin Wall.
"Never underestimate the power of the bully pulpit of America," Cruz declared. "One of the most striking and inexplicable aspects of the last six years is the almost complete absence of American leadership speaking out for freedom."
Another critical responsibility for the next administration will be "resolutely defending U.S. national security," he added.
Cruz said that the foreign policy of President Obama and his first Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was excessively focused on photo-ops and "international norms" instead of defending vital U.S. security interests.
"If and when we have to [use force], it should be with a clear, stated objective up front," Cruz said. "We should go in with overwhelming force and then we should get the heck out. It is not the job of our military to produce democratic utopias across the world."
Cruz faulted what he said was President Obama’s lackluster approach to critical foreign policy challenges including Moscow’s aggressive actions in Ukraine, negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and U.S. military operations against the Islamic State.
Cruz also objected to Obama’s handling of the recent ouster of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
"What a failure of leadership at a time when the world is on fire," Cruz said. "It seems what the administration is looking for is a defense secretary who will follow the orders of a political White House."
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