While this exchange took place in 2015, Trump continues his hard line stance against ISIS. He has not backed off of his “bomb the shit out of them” mentality, and if anything has doubled down time and again. Trump won’t let the opinions of the world’s leading military men get in the way of his aggressive sound bite. A Commander In Chief that would completely disregard the advice of generals on the ground is chilling. Watch tomorrow for another post in which Hertling again questioned Trump’s military credentials this week.

Donald Trump has been a very strong hawk for war with ISIS. In the last week he has advocated torturing them, and earlier has planned to “take out their families.” In November of 2015 he suggests that the US “bomb the shit out of them.” In addition, Trump suggests that if we just “take the oil away” then ISIS will be hamstrung in the Middle East.

There is no room for nuance or diplomacy in these reckless statements of war lust, and at least one United States three star general has taken notice and taken Trump to task. General Mark Hertling has opined that Donald Trump’s plan for ISIS is “laughable and dangerous.”

Trump responded in an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN stating that “I’m a better general than the general that you’re talking about.” Hertling is a three star retired general, a 37 year veteran and commanded the Seventh Army in Iraq. Hertling said, to Anderson Cooper in a separate interview: “I’m not sure he understands the art and science of soldiering, and the connection of military strategy with national security strategy. And he doesn’t, certainly, understand the complexity of what’s going on in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East…it’s delusional.”

Hertling goes on to say that Trump’s plan does not meet the criteria for a military action. “Well, as he has said, he is a better general than I. So, as a military man, he knows that all plans have to be feasible, credible and practical. The plan that he’s concocting right now doesn’t meet any one of those categories.” Hertling continues: “And, in fact, I would say, it is — it does meet a category of laughable and dangerous. There are people around the world are listening to this and not quite understanding what is going on in America with a guy that’s suggesting we just bomb and send troops in to steal the oil. It’s just not a good suggestion politically.”

Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/07/24/donald-trump-general-hertling-live-ac.cnn

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/06/politics/donald-trump-torture/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hertling
http://www.econotimes.com/Trumps-campaign-rhetoric-ISIS-and-the-law-of-war-175424
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/08/13/gen-hertling-trumps-plan-to-beat-isis-is-laughable-and-dangerous/