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[[Chris Christie (Middle East)| (section page)]]

Mr. Christie said in April that American combat troops might be needed to fight the Islamic State. “We have to be willing as Americans to say, if need be, we’ll also put soldiers into the fight.” He said he had “grave concerns” about a potential deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program, saying that an agreement would lead other Middle East nations to develop nuclear abilities, and that Tehran, as a state sponsor of terrorism, has “no basis to have earned our trust.” He has been sharply critical of President Obama’s warming of ties with Cuba, and of Americans who travel there, saying Cubans “can’t vote, they can’t speak, they can’t own property.” Addressing Russia’s support of separatist rebels in Ukraine, he said that Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, would be more fearful of him than of Mr. Obama. “I don’t believe, given who I am, that he would make the same judgment,” he said last summer.