‘Our enemies believe they can ignore us’ Fiorina discuss foreign policy during interview at Daily Sun

LACONIA — "When America fails to lead the world becomes a much more dangerous and tragic place," said Carly Fiorina, the lone woman among the 17 Republicans chasing the presidential nomination, during a recent interview with the Laconia Daily Sun.

Although a business executive with no formal political experience, Fiorina has traveled extensively throughout the world, claims relationships with foreign leaders and believes the United States must project its power abroad. "American is a unique nation with a unique role," she said. Picturing America beset by turmoil in the Middle East and threatened by the ambitions of Russia and China, she insisted, "We must stand with our allies and confront our adversaries."

Fiorina expressed strong opposition to the nuclear accord negotiated with Iran by the Obama administration. "I'm all for diplomacy, but you can't get rolled at the table," she said, "and Obama and Kerry got rolled." She said that the partners in the negotiations — the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China — will proceed to lift economic sanctions in order to reopen Iran to trade. But, she said that Congress should scuttle the accord and the United States stifle the international flow of Iran's financial resources until its government agrees to "anytime,anywhere" inspections of its military and nuclear facilities.

While conceding that the U.S. cannot solve the conflict between Sunnis and Shiites roiling the Middle East, Fiorina said that ISIS must be defeated. She said that Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other Sunni Muslim states have asked for weaponry and material to combat ISIS, but the Obama administration has withheld its support. Calling the policy "ineptitude," she said, "Give our allies what they ask for. Someone has to defeat ISIS."

Likewise, Fiorina raised concerns about the encroachment of China on the trade routes through the South China Sea. She said that America's allies in the region — chiefly Australia and the Philippines — "won't push back because the United States won't push back. If we don't push back," she continued, "China will control the most important trade routes in the world." At the same time, she called for retaliating against cyber attacks originating in China that jeopardized the security of governmental and commercial networks. "We should treat China as China treats us," she said.

Fiorina criticized the Obama administration for ending wars without securing peace in Iraq and Afghanistan, where conditions have grown "more troublesome" and failing to follow rhetoric with action. "Our allies believe they can't count on us, and our enemies believe they can ignore us," she said.