Donald Trump beats Hillary Clinton conclusively in second Presidential debate

There were precious few moments of substance in Second Debate of the US Presidential election, so few that one struggles to see the point of having a third debate.

US Presidential elections are a long process and more often than not, a long winded process.

With less than a month away from polling day, a feeling of intellectual exhaustion is palpable in the air.

But for the wider world, the election is more important than ever and the race is far from a foregone conclusion, especially after tonight.

Here are the key points on foreign affairs.

Refreshingly, the few moments of substance in the debate revolved around the most important issue of the election and indeed the most important issue for the wider world: the war against Islamic terrorism in Syria, Iraq and Libya.

Here Donald Trump remains the clear winner. His position has not changed, and he would not be drawn on Hillary Clinton’s pathological loathing of Russia.

Early in the debate Donald Trump summarised the absurdity of the election where an audio tape of Donald Trump moaning about not being able to have sex with a woman has become more important than the issue of Islamic terrorism.

Trump made reference to some of the worst crimes of ISIS, correctly calling them barbaric and medieval.

He asked why at a time when the world is facing this threat a frivolous tape is making headlines? The implied answer is that the mainstream media have willed it thus and in doing so are putting lives in danger.

In the last quarter of the debate, when Hillary Clinton was against the ropes over her email scandal, she predictably blamed Russia and specifically President Putin for hacking the infamous DNC emails.

She went even further by naming Wikileaks as an agent of Russia.

This may possibly be the most absurd statement in a campaign in which absurdity is more abundant than nitrogen in earth’s atmosphere.

If there was a moment when Trump won the debate on behalf of the wider world, it was when he said that it would be good if America and Russia had good relations and it would be even better if America could work with Russia in the battle against Islamic terrorism in Syria.

Rather than nit-pick over qualms about Trump’s personal habits or flamboyant rhetoric, the wider world – if it cares about its own survival – ought to see Trump as a champion of moderate common sense vis-à-vis Hillary Clinton’s perpetual war mongering.

From Hillary Clinton’s perspective ‘Assad must go’.  From Donald Trump’s perspective, Assad is not the problem.

Furthermore, Trump said that it is logistically mad to fight two sides in the same war simultaneously and expect to gain anything meaningful let alone tangible. 

Hillary Clinton struck back by saying she would support a no-fly zone which even Obama and Kerry seem to have given up on, at least temporarily.

She said she’d investigate Russia for ‘war crimes’ and that she would have to ‘leverage’ Russia.

Just what she means by ‘leverage’ Russia is something of a mystery, but in this particular context it sounded like a threat.

If anyone who is voting in the election wants war between America and Russia, you’ve never had a better candidate than Hillary Clinton.

The choice for Trump is clear, but the lack of knowledge in respect of foreign affairs among many prominent American politicians and far too many American voters threatens to put a war monger in the White House.

Some appear to be less concerned about the dangers of a war hungry individual who publicly salivates at the thought of having her finger on the little red button attached to nuclear missiles, than a man who years ago talked about his desire to have his finger on a little red button which forms part of the female genitalia.

If America was a small and insignificant third world country with no air force, no ships and a few rusty tanks, this election would be highly insignificant.

At times, the bitter personal arguments between the two candidates made them appear to be vying for control of a banana republic.

But America is a nuclear superpower and because of this foreign policy must take precedence over all else.

Donald Trump wins easily here, and he made his points very clearly in a debate which however dirty he won.