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Trump vows to work with King Abdullah, Al-Sisi, Putin to fight IS

WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (KUNA) -- In his first foreign policy speech as Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump Monday pledged to work with Jordan's King Abdullah, Egypt's President Abdelfatah Al-Sisi, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin to "halt the spread of radical Islam" touted by so-called Islamic State (IS).
Speaking to a crowd at Youngstown State University in Ohio, Trump said his Administration would end "the era of nation-building" and embark on a "new approach" to fight the group.
Nation-building around the world has been a key policy of the Obama Administration.
"As President, I will call for an international conference focused on this goal. We will work side-by-side with our friends in the Middle East, including our greatest ally, Israel. We will partner with King Abdullah of Jordan, and President Sisi of Egypt, and all others who recognize this ideology of death that must be extinguished," Trump said.
"I also believe that we could find common ground with Russia in the fight against ISIS," he added, using an alternative name for IS. "They too have much at stake in the outcome in Syria, and have had their own battles with Islamic terrorism." Trump further vowed to work with NATO on combating terrorism, though he had previously slammed the alliance for being "obsolete.
"My Administration will aggressively pursue joint and coalition military operations to crush and destroy ISIS, international cooperation to cutoff their funding, expanded intelligence sharing, and cyberwarfare to disrupt and disable their propaganda and recruiting," the real estate mogul said.
He insisted the US should have maintained control over Iraq's oil, rather than leaving it to IS's benefit.
"I was saying this constantly and to whoever would listen: keep the oil, keep the oil, keep the oil ... don't let someone else get it," Trump said. "If they had listened to me then, we would have had the economic benefits of the oil, which I wanted to use to help take care of the wounded soldiers and families of those who died - and thousands of lives would have been saved." He then added: "In the old days, when we won a war, to the victor belonged the spoils." As part of his fight against terrorism, Trump said he would also "decimate Al-Qaeda," and "seek to starve funding for Iran-backed ... Hezbollah," and re-apply UN sanctions that are being eased following last year's nuclear deal.
On "moderate Muslim reformers" in the region, Trump said his Administration will be their "friend" and will "amplify their voices." The billionaire businessman then introduced his proposal for an "ideological screening test" for immigrants to the US, which he described as "extreme vetting.
"We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people," Trump affirmed.
"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 or its principles - or who believe that Sharia law should supplant American law," he said.
"Only those who we expect to flourish in our country - and to embrace a tolerant American society - should be issued visas," he added.
Under a Trump presidency, the US "will have to temporarily suspend immigration from some of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world that have a history of exporting terrorism," and "a Commission on Radical Islam" will be established, he said.
The Commission will be made up of "reformist voices in the Muslim community" in order to "build bridges and erase divisions," Trump said, and its goal "will be to identify and explain to the American public the core convictions and beliefs of Radical Islam" and prevent radicalization.
Finally, the Republican nominee emphasized that he intends to keep the Guantanamo Bay prison open, overturning President Barack Obama's Executive Order to close it. (end) ys.bs