Washington : Leading Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has ruled out sending thousands of US ground troops to fight IS but has supported use of air power to defeat the terror outfit even as he said America needs to rethink its involvement in NATO.
“The military tells me, we need 20,000 or 30,000 troops. I wouldn’t deploy 20,000. I’d get people from that part of the world to put up the troops, and I’d certainly give them air power and air support and some military support. But I would never ever put up 20,000 or 30,000,” Trump told CNN.
“We’ve spent $2 trillion, at least, in Iraq. We’re spending trillions of dollars in the Middle East. You know where we are now? We’re further back than we were 15 years ago. We are in such bad shape. The Middle East is a disaster for us,” Trump said. He also said he would “dismantle” the “disastrous” nuclear deal with Iran.
“My number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran. I have been in business a long time. I know deal-making and let me tell you, this deal is catastrophic - for America, for Israel, and for the Middle East,” he said.
