Press Room

Former White House Chief of Staff, John Sununu, says the next President would be well-advised to follow the examples of two former Republican Commanders in Chief — Ronald Reagan and Sununu's former boss, George H.W. Bush — when dealing with foreign antagonists like Vladimir Putin and ISIS.

On a recent edition of The Costa Report, Sununu said Reagan and Bush 41 ended The Cold War — while simultaneously maintaining order in the Middle East — by staying true to Reagan's philosophy of "peace through strength," and blamed the current administration and Congress for damaging America's effectiveness abroad by showing weakness.

"You can't draw a red line in the sand, then fail to act when that red line is crossed," said Sununu, who believes the United States sent a dangerous message by failing to take aggressive action when Russia began its assault on the Ukraine. "What we have been doing is signaling to Putin — either deliberately, or out of ignorance — that we would not take action in certain areas.

"Our inaction and inability to help the Ukrainians during the early incursions emboldened Putin," he added.  "We made a horrible mistake in giving him the idea that he could possibly resurrect the old Soviet empire."

Sununu's new autobiography of George H.W. Bush, "The Quiet Man," describes the former President's under-appreciated diplomatic skills, pointing to how  \the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the reunification of Germany (which led to a free Europe) were handled. He also applauds Bush for showing great restraint following the first Gulf War.

"I don't think he gets enough credit for the way he handled the Gulf War, getting Saddam (Hussein) out of Kuwait, while not making the mistake of staying too long in Iraq, and thereby becoming an occupying force in that country," he said.

Which begs the question: Do restraint and diplomacy still work today? How would  George H.W. Bush handle ISIS?

Sununu explained, "I don't think he would have allowed it to become the crisis it is today. A lot of the problems in today's world, including ISIS, exist because we have backed away from our leadership role over the past half-dozen-or-so years.

"We have undernourished our military capabilities, cutting back on spending, we have reduced our investment in national security, and we have been using phrases like 'leading from behind,'" he added. "The rest of world sees this, and it creates a little bit of a power vacuum. Power vacuums provide stimulus for mischief."

Is Sununu right?  According to figures published by usgovernmentspending.com, the U.S. spent 5.7 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on defense in 1990, when his former employer left office, a percentage the current Administration matched in 2010. Though that percentage was reduced to 4.6 percent in 2015, although much of the decrease is attributed to the federal budget sequestration that went into effect in 2013, which reduced spending by $85 billion per year. Roughly half of that decrease came from the U.S. military budget.

To hear the full  interview with former White House Chief of Staff John Sununu, visit rebeccacosta.com