Carly Fiorina ‘Prepared’ To Attack Russian Forces If They Keep Attacking Syrian Rebels

It says a lot about the state of the Republican field when Carly Fiorina is, at least for the moment, the only top-tier Republican candidate who can claim to be the adult in the room. When the only halfway electable candidate in the top tier is known for spreading easily debunked myths about Planned Parenthood, that’s not a good sign. Well, if last night was any indication, Fiorina must have thought she isn’t trying hard enough to out-conservative the likes of Donald Trump and Ben Carson. She thinks that we ought to attack Russian forces if they don’t stop attacking moderate Syrian rebels.

Amid overwhelming evidence that Russia is attacking moderate Syrian forces under the guise of attacking ISIS, Fiorina appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” to give her take on the matter. Watch here.

Fiorina told Sean Hannity that we must make it “crystal clear” to the Kremlin that “they do not get to move into the Middle East and become the dominant outside power.” Sensible enough, right? Well, Fiorina started veering into saber-rattling territory when she said that she believed Russia must be put on notice that “we will conduct, we will secure” a no-fly zone around moderate forces who are fighting the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Hannity broke in to ask, “Does that mean that we might use force against Russian jets?” Fiorina rose to the lure, saying that “if we are signalling clearly to the Russians our intention,” she hopes it won’t get to the point of American planes firing on Russian planes. However, she said, “if it does come to that, we must be prepared.”

Considering that Fiorina nearly ran Hewlett-Packard into the ground due to her inability to plan long-term, such a short-sighted response isn’t all that surprising. By all means, we should put Russian president Vladimir Putin on notice that the rest of the world won’t allow him to elbow his way into the Middle East. But has it occurred to Fiorina that maybe, just maybe, force should only be used as a last resort?

Tightening the economic noose around the Kremlin, for instance, would work wonders. This summer, the EU imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine were extended until January. Those sanctions have already crippled the ruble and plunged the Russian economy into recession. Additional sanctions would likely have the effect of strangling the Russian bear until it gags. Putin’s no fool. Would he really be willing to continue branding moderate rebels as terrorists if it would risk completely destroying his country’s economy? I doubt it.

Of course, there’s the 500-pound gorilla in the room. I seem to recall that we’re still digging out from the last time that we got involved in the wrong war at the wrong time with the wrong enemy in the Middle East. Does Fiorina want a repeat performance? Apparently she does.