Pence ‘proud’ Trump WH avoided engaging in new war

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The Post-Trump Republican Party

GOP must now navigate through Trump and Trumpism.

Vice President Mike Pence took to Twitter late Sunday night to say he is "proud" that the Trump administration "is the first in decades" not to get the U.S. entangled in a new war.

"That’s Peace through Strength," Pence tweeted.

In October, the White House issued a statement that touted military accomplishments that did not require a major deployment of troops. The statement pointed to the deaths of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani as military achievements.  

Forbes ran an article in December that said no matter your feelings about Trump’s term in office, he has done more "in four years to shift the vector of U.S. military preparations than most accomplish in eight."

Loren Thompson, a national security contributor to the magazine, pointed out that President Obama launched a troop surge in 2009 in Afghanistan and sent troops to Iraq in 2014 while the ISIS insurgency raged.  Trump, on the other hand, "bought the U.S. military four years of relative peace in which to rebuild from endless wars."

Trump's critics would likely highlight what they called reckless threats to countries like Iran and North Korea as an example of his bellicose nature. But his overtures to Kim Jong-un, even though they did not pan out, was seen by some critics as a sincere effort for a diplomatic breakthrough. 

Pence visited troops at Fort Drum, which sits on the northern border of New York State on Sunday. He referred to a speech he gave there as his final speech as vice president, according to North Country Public Radio.

The report said that Pence thanked the 10th Mountain Division and pointed out that the division has been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq nearly 50 times since 2001.

"There’s never been a day gone by that I and every American hasn’t been grateful to the 10th Mountain Division and every American hero in uniform," Pence said.