Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz unveiled his national security team, which includes former Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams, former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent and former U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy.
"These are trusted friends who will form a core of our broader national security team," the Texas senator said. "After two terms of a failed Obama-Clinton foreign policy, our allies are confused and frightened, and our enemies are looking for opportunities.
"This is the moment for all those who believe in a strong America that is secure at home and respected abroad to come together and craft a new path forward," Cruz said.
Abrams, who served Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, praised the senator's support for Israel, saying that "he has made it clear that he believes a strong Israel is America’s key ally and asset in the Middle East.
"He understands the power relationships in that region and he will put an end to the tensions of the Obama years that have weakened the U.S.-Israel alliance," Abrams added. "He is very clearly the most pro-Israel candidate in the race today."
Other members of Cruz's team include:
- Stewart Baker, former assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Health and Human Serves and general counsel of the National Security Agency.
- Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council.
- Retired Army Lt. General William Boykin, executive vice president of the Family Research Council.
- Fred Fleitz, a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst.
- Randy Fort, who has served in senior intelligence positions in the Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush administrations.
- Frank Gaffney Jr., president and CEO of the Center for Security Policy.
- Nile Gardiner, a former aide to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
- Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
- Katharine Gorka, president of the Council on Global Security.
- Steven Groves, a senior research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
- Mary Habeck, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
- Kristofer Harrison, a co-founder of the China Beige Book who once served in the George W. Bush White House.
- Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain.
- Michael Ledeen, an author who serves at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
- Clare Lopez, a vice president at the Center for Security Policy.
- Robert O’Brien, a partner at the Larson O’Brien LLP law firm in Los Angeles.
- Michael Pillsbury, who was a Reagan campaign advisor in 1980.
- Charles Stimson, the senior legal fellow and manager of National Security Law Program at the Heritage Foundation.
- Daniel Vajdich, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
- Christian Whiton, a former State Department senior advisor in the Bush administration.
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