Here’s how Trump and Biden stack up on crucial foreign policy issues, from Iran to China

Trump, who campaigned in 2016 on ending “ridiculous endless wars” in the Middle East, took to Twitter earlier this month to announce that American forces currently serving in Afghanistan will be home by Christmas.

It was unclear if Trump, who is seeking reelection next month, was giving an order via tweet or reiterating a long-held campaign promise in order to appeal to voters.

“Trump has had four years and has ended no wars, despite making some progress on Afghanistan. He picked national security advisors and secretaries of State who supported continuing the wars. His policy of menacing Iran makes fully getting out of Syria and Iraq impossible,” Benjamin Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities, told CNBC.

The war in Afghanistan, which has dragged on to become America’s longest conflict, began 19 years ago and has cost U.S. taxpayers $193 billion, according to a Defense Department report.

The Taliban welcomed Trump’s announcement, saying it was a positive step toward a peace agreement.

Earlier this year, the United States brokered a peace deal with the Taliban that would usher in a permanent cease-fire and reduce the U.S. military’s footprint from approximately 13,000 to 8,600 by mid-July. And by May 2021, all foreign forces would leave the war-torn country.

As a presidential candidate, Biden is running on his experience shaping U.S. diplomacy and national security priorities in the Middle East.

“Biden is an experienced politician, and the politics will likely move toward reducing if not fully ending U.S. war efforts,” Friedman told CNBC, adding that it is unclear whether Biden will entirely pull out troops.

“Biden talks about leaving counterterrorism troops behind in some countries, including Syria and potentially Afghanistan, so he doesn’t seem to fully want out,” Friedman said.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/27/trump-biden-foreign-policy-iran-china.html