Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., laid out his rule of engagement for the U.S. military at the Iowa Straw Poll on Aug. 11.

Tancredo said rules of engagement in warfare hinder the ability to take action that saves lives. He said there would only be one rule of engagement if he was elected president.

“We win, you lose,” he said.

Tancredo said if he were president, he would give soldiers the “finest equipment” for battle and make sure they received the proper treatment they needed after they had served.

Tancredo hit his dominant campaign issue: immigration.

Tancredo told a story about when he was in Detroit to speak in front of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He said he met a cab driver who was an immigrant from the Ivory Coast studying for his citizenship test.

“That’s exactly the kind of person we want here, somebody who wants to be an American,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are millions of people coming to our shores who are unwilling to do what my cab driver friend from the Ivory Coast is doing.”

Tancredo chastised Washington for not doing its job in regards to the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States. He said he would bring criminal charges against mayors of “sanctuary cities” and plans to deport illegal immigrants.

“We will secure the borders of America and never give amnesty to illegal aliens,” he said.

Tancredo said there is a “radical multiculturalism” that threatens our country and gave examples of Christian terms being banned from public schools while Muslims are given the opportunity to pray.

“Everything we’ve conceived in this nation is under attack from jihadism abroad to multiculturalism here at home,” he said. “We are at war for the survival of our republic and our way of life.”

Finally, Tancredo closed with advice to those in attendance.

“I will never apologize for America; it is the last, best hope for Western civilization,” he said. “This is our culture, fight for it.”