Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said Sunday that the Middle East would be more stable if the U.S. had never ousted former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
When asked by NBC's Chuck Todd if the Middle East would be more stable with the two leaders still in power, Trump responded, "Of course it would be. It's not even a contest."
Trump suggested that the Islamic State group would not have been able to take over large swaths of Iraq if Hussein was still in power, and four Americans stationed in Libya would still be alive if Gadhafi was not taken out, according to The New York Post.
"You wouldn't have had your Benghazi situation which is one thing which was just a terrible situation," Trump said. "Libya is not even – nobody even knows what's going on over there. It's not even a country anymore."
Trump predicted that the current U.S. efforts to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power will result in the same thing that happened in Iraq and Libya.
"You can make the case, if you look at Libya, look at what we did there – it's a mess – if you look at Saddam Hussein with Iraq, look what we did there – it's a mess – [Syria is] going to be same thing," the billionaire real estate mogul said.
While he seemed to endorse strengthening Assad, he admitted that he is "probably a bad guy."
Trump also voiced support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's newly launched offensive against the Islamic State group in Syria.
"I like that Putin is bombing the hell out of ISIS," Trump said. "I'm not justifying Putin, but you watch, he'll get bogged down" in Syria. "He'll be begging to get out."
The Obama administration is fighting against the Islamic State group and at the same time funding and arming so-called moderate rebels fighting to oust Assad, who the administration blames for a number of human rights violations.
Assad said Sunday that he would be willing to step down from power if he thought it would help, reported CBS News.
President #Assad to the Iranian #Khabar #TV: If my leaving office is the solution, I will never hesitate to do so.
- Syrian Presidency (@Presidency_Sy) October 4, 2015
He also claimed that terrorism is the new tool the West uses to conquer Middle Eastern countries and that his priority is to prevent "more countries falling under Western hegemony."
President Bashar al-Assad to the #Iranian Khabar #TV: #Terrorism is a new instrument used by the West to subjugate the region.
— Syrian Presidency (@Presidency_Sy) October 4, 2015
President Bashar al-Assad to the Iranian Khabar #TV: Our priority is to prevent more countries falling under Western hegemony. — Syrian Presidency (@Presidency_Sy) October 4, 2015
President #Assad to the #Iranian Khabar #TV: What we want from Western leaders is to tell their people the #truth.
— Syrian Presidency (@Presidency_Sy) October 4, 2015
