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Hillary Clinton Idealist

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What do you get when you cross and Idealist with a Realist? Apparently, Hillary Clinton. A self-proclaimed “idealistic realist,” Hillary Clinton claims a “hybrid” approach to her foreign policy positions. Indicating she observes the individual categories, idealism and realism, to have a false dividing line, feeling she encompasses elements of both, “Our challenge is to be clear-eyed about the world as it is while never losing sight of the world as we want it to become” (Clinton 566). A proponent of “smart power” (566), the combination of hard and soft power, she has endorsed the strategy and it was an integral force behind her foreign policy initiatives as Secretary of State and she promises a continuance of that as president. She does, however, have a tending hawkishness on matters concerning foreign policy, leading some critics to label her as an interventionist (Traub), signaling a …show more content…

The Iranians have clearly provided support to the Assad regime during the civil war, as indicated by the increasing number of Iranian generals dying in Syria (Wright). Clinton has admitted that not acting after Bashir Al-Assad crossed the proverbial “red line” and used chemical weapons on his own people was detrimental to the administration’s integrity. With the Islamic State (ISIS) operating out of Syria under the protection of the Syrian government, throughout her tenure as Secretary of State and as a presidential candidate, Clinton has always maintained the mantra “Assad must go.” Clinton embraces a bellicose approach to the campaign against ISIS: calling for a no-fly zone in Syria, a move that some Pentagon officials say could eventually require a large military presence, including American troops on the ground (De Luce); demanding states like Saudi Arabia step up and increase troop presence in the region to aid in stability; insisting

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