What Did U.S. Soldiers Think Of Monday's Presidential Debate?

Donald Trump speaks as Hillary Clinton listens. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Nancy Youssef, Daily Beast: Pentagon Cringes at Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s War Talk

The first presidential debate had heads shaking in Arlington, as the candidates oversimplified war, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity.

Troops based at the Pentagon watched Monday’s presidential debate—and grimaced. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump discussed the final days of the war in Iraq, the self-proclaimed Islamic State, and NATO in largely simplified terms. But in the hallways of the Pentagon, those black-and-white depictions didn’t match the thorny global security issues as they saw them—far more complex and in the grey.

And when the candidates weren’t mangling issues, they planted themselves in fantasy worlds.

Take Trump’s assertion that his temperament was best suited for the job. That really captured the military’s attention, particularly at the Pentagon, which is filled with commanders who rose through the ranks, in part, because of their perceived temperament on the battlefield.

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WNU Editor: I have lived long enough and I have seen enough U.S. elections to know that the U.S. soldier is rarely impressed with the Presidential candidates that are running. This year is no exception.