Pataki: US can’t ‘bow down’ to radical Islam

Former New York Gov. George Pataki said on Sunday he would aggressively combat radical Islamic terrorism if elected president.

{mosads}Pataki, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, added that his experiences during the 9/11 attacks have inspired his current policies for defeating extremist groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“America is not going to bow down when I’m president to radical Islam,” Pataki told listeners at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.

“I felt the horror of New York,” he said of the 9/11 terrorist strikes. “We paid a horrible cost, a horrible penalty for not realizing the threat that they pose us.

“We have to stand up and defeat radical Islam over there so they can’t attack us over here,” the 2016 GOP presidential candidate added.

Pataki vowed he would provide military aid to the Kurds and increase U.S. bombing campaigns against ISIS upon becoming president.

The former New York governor argued on Sunday that his view of combating terrorists in the Middle East is one rooted in pragmatism.

“I don’t want a 10-year war,” Pataki said. “I don’t want to spend a trillion dollars trying to make a democracy in a part of the world that has never known one.”

Pataki additionally rejected claims on Sunday that his 2016 campaign is a long-shot bid, given the GOP’s crowded field next year.

“I honestly think that my background is vastly different than anyone else in this race,” he said.

“It seems like whoever is elected, the government gets bigger,” Pataki said. “I’m going to change Washington and reduce its power.

“I can win this election,” he added. “We are one America. When we stand together, we can accomplish anything.

“I want to give the power back to you the people here in Iowa and across this nation. I know I can do it because I did it in New York.”