Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton used her appearance at the American Legion's annual convention Wednesday to again attack Republican rival Donald Trump as an unstable, unworthy pick to be America's next commander in chief.
"Threatening to walk away from our alliances, ignoring the importance that they still are to us, is not only wrong, it is dangerous," she told a crowd of veterans gathered at the Cincinnati event. "If I am your president, our friends will always know, America will have your backs, and we expect you to have ours.
"You don't build a coalition by insulting our friends or acting like a loose cannon. You do it through slow, hard work of building relationships."
The speech, which largely focused on foreign policy and military readiness issues, echoed most of the same themes and promises that Clinton made at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in late July.
The former secretary of state pledged to "reform and strengthen (the Department of Veterans Affairs) and not privatize it." She outlined plans to improve women's care in VA hospitals, boost resources for mental health treatment and "end the epidemic of veterans suicide" through an intense focus on the issue.
She also reiterated plans to review military personnel policies, finding ways to better recruit and retain top talent to the active-duty force. Clinton has proposed more flexibility in duty assignments and more family assistance programs for troops, in an effort to ease the stress of service.
At the Legion event, she also promised renewed investment in military research and technology, and promised a renewed focus and response to potential cyber attacks against American infrastructure.
"As president, I will make it clear that the United States will treat cyber attacks just like any other attacks," she said. "We will be ready with serious political, economic and military responses. We are going to invest in protecting our governmental network and our national infrastructure.
"I want us to lead the world in setting the rules of cyberspace. If America does not, others will."
She referenced gaffes by Trump on the campaign trail by promising she will never insult Gold Star families or prisoners of war, and implied that a Trump presidency could lead to global chaos and destruction, some of the harshest accusations of an already bitter campaign fight.
"Make no mistake, I believe we do have better days ahead," she said. "But things could also get worse. If more countries get nuclear weapons, if we abandon our allies, if our commander in chief orders our military to break the laws and commit torture or murder terrorists' family members.
"That is why it is so critical we get this right."
Trump will have his chance at rebuttal on those points at the Legion convention on Thursday. He is scheduled to address the membership at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Follow @LeoShane
Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at lshane@militarytimes.com.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
