Ramaswamy talks foreign policy in Oskaloosa

Oct. 23—OSKALOOSA — Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is worried that the United States is "sleepwalking" its way into World War III.

Ramaswamy made a stop at the Oskaloosa Veterans of Foreign Wars Post Saturday to give a question and answer style speech that focused heavily on foreign policy as the war between Israel and Hamas rages on.

"It hurts me, as an American, to see our allies in Israel and what they went through," he says. "What Hamas did to Israel, it was inhumane. It was morally wrong. It was medieval. Barbaric. And Israel absolutely has the right to defend itself, and we should support their right of national self defense, but I am very worried, as somebody who was a high school senior when those two planes hit the Twin Towers on 9/11, to watch and remember the mistakes that we made in this country after 9/11, fighting 25 years of wars in places like Afghanistan and Iraq that didn't actually advance the American interest."

Ramaswamy expressed concern that Israel's widely expected ground invasion south into the Gaza Strip will be a "disaster," leaving them vulnerable to attacks from Hezbollah in the north and plunging them into a war on two fronts.

"There's no way in which we're going to watch Israel's existence be at risk in a two front war. That gets the United States involved," Ramaswamy says. "What happens when the U.S. gets involved? The Iranian-backed militias, the Houthis in Yemen, the Badr Brigade in Iraq, have said they would then hit American targets in the Middle East ... What happens then? We're in the middle of a large, regional-scale, broad war in the Middle East. We've done it before, we know how that movie goes. We don't want to do that again."

He cited concerns about humanitarian casualties, allies turning their backs on Israel and pointed to the possibility that even if Israel is successful in overthrowing Hamas, the terrorist group will only be replaced by another version of itself, drawing similarities to the transition from Al Qaeda to ISIS.

"People will say 'Is this anti-Israel?' That's why the other Republicans are scared. No one wants that to [be said] about them. No, this isn't anti-Israel, this is pro-Israel. More importantly, it's pro-America ... [There's] an old saying, if you care about somebody, you tell them the truth," he says. "If you care about yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. That's why I'm against this $110 billion foreign aid package that they're putting up. Not a single Republican's willing to stand up and say it. I will. It's wrong."

Reuters reported on Oct. 20 that President Joe Biden is asking Congress to approve $106 billion in supplemental funding that would include money for Ukraine, Israel, border protection and humanitarian assistance.

Referring to a recent visit he made to the U.S. Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, Ramaswamy says he's never seen a more "organized, government orchestrated violation of the rule of law" in his life. Combining the border crisis with the $33 trillion national debt, he says the American homeland has never been more vulnerable.

"Our homeland is as vulnerable as it's ever been," he says. "If we enter World War III, I worry this is the first time we can say this with confidence: we won't win with Russia and China in an alliance with each other, so I cannot sell you a myth just saying 'Hey, print another $61 billion for Ukraine. Go ahead and print another $16 billion, even though we don't have any clear idea what Israel's plans are in Gaza. That doesn't help anybody. No, we've got to be willing to learn from the mistakes in the past to get this right in the present."

"Here's my foreign policy: Stay out of World War III, declare independence from China — That's our actual enemy that we're not focused on right now, because we're focused on every other problem — and then protect this homeland, right here at home in the United States," he adds. "Our borders, our cyber defenses, our super-EMP defenses. They could take out our electric grid in a matter of days. Nuclear missile defenses that we're missing. Space base defenses, defense of Americans in this homeland."

Ramaswamy says America must learn from the past to avoid making cyclical mistakes in foreign policy.

"I know many people find this controversial when I say it. My moral obligation, my duty as your next president, is not to somebody else somewhere else. My moral obligation is to American citizens here in the American homeland. That's my job as your next president," he says. "I think we need somebody who can keep that head on straight and say 'Yes, we will stand with our allies to allow them to defend themselves, but we will not repeat the mistakes of the past, sending our sons and daughters to fight somebody else's war, repeating the same mistakes that happened after Iraq."

Rodney Morse, 47, of Montezuma, says he appreciates Ramaswamy's background and vision.

"I think he's got a strong educational background, and I love hearing him because he speaks from the heart and he backs it up with facts. I just, I think he's got a great vision," Morse says.

More believes that competing with former President Donald Trump will be difficult for Ramaswamy.

"It will be hard," Morse says, "but I think he's got the right message, so hopefully he can push forward."

Morse likes both Trump and Ramaswamy as candidates in the Republican Primary Election.

Channing Rucks can be reached at crucks@oskyherald.com.