Trump needs to flesh out national security strategy

As the hard-hitting Repub- lican primary election clearly showed, immigration ranks as one of the top issues for conservatives. Indeed, the more extreme the anti- immigration rhetoric, the stronger the support from the GOP.

Donald J. Trump recognized this political reality early on in his campaign for the party nomination for president. He grabbed on to the issue and didn’t let go. His outlandish views separated him from the 16 other candidates in the race and endeared him to 13 million-plus primary voters.

Indeed, the first-time candidate for elected office dominated newspaper headlines and TV news cycles for weeks with his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. This, after a series of terrorist attacks around the country by lone-wolf Islamic extremists.

The reaction to the total ban was predictable: Members of the GOP establishment, Democrats and immigration and foreign-policy experts warned of dire consequences if it were implemented.

In addition, the Muslim community in the U.S. used Trump’s comments to stress the importance of the November general election.

A similar sense of urgency exists in the Mexican-American community where Trump’s pledge to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants has been met with deep concern.

In the face of intense public criticism, Trump softened his stand with regard to Muslims. He said that individuals from countries where Islamic extremists hold sway would be prevented from entering the United States – for the time being, at least.

But then on Monday, Trump came to Youngstown to deliver a major speech on national security and unveiled another revision to his immigration plan.

The GOP presidential nominee told the 350 party faithful and others who had been invited to hear the speech that “extreme vetting” and an ideological test for prospective immigrants would be the hallmarks of his policy.

American values

The goal, Trump said, is to ensure that anyone entering the U.S. shares American values.

“We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people,” he said. “In addition to screening out all members or sympathizers of terrorist groups, we must also screen out any who have hostile attitudes towards our country and its principles – or who believe Shariah law should supplant American law. Those who do not believe in our Constitution, or who support bigotry and hatred, will not be admitted.”

He said that as president, he would call on the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security “to identify a list of regions where adequate screening cannot take place.” That would result in a temporary halt in visas to residents from such regions.

Those attending the speech were clearly pleased with Trump’s pledge to slam the brakes on immigration, but as in all policy matters, the devil is in the details.

Trump did not provide any, and the American people are left to wonder how the screening would be accomplished. How would the government ensure that applicants for visas are being truthful when they say they believe in American values, support the Constitution and do not have ties to Islamic extremist groups?

The GOP presidential nominee also used the speech in Youngstown to detail his vision for defeating Islamic terrorism around the world. Of interest was his acknowledgement that America cannot go it alone and needs the cooperation of its allies, led by Israel, and of countries that aren’t friends.

He went so far as to say NATO would play an important role – even though he recently slammed allies that haven’t paid their dues, warning they wouldn’t be guaranteed help from the U.S. if Russia invaded.

President Barack Obama was pointed in his reaction to Trump’s comments, saying they were another sign of the Republican nominee’s “lack of preparedness” on foreign policy.

History has shown that nations cannot be bullied into doing America’s bidding. And it’s clear that the war on global terrorism will not be won with the United States acting on its own.