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Topics in the News: North Korea


Tim Walz on War & Peace : Oct 1, 2024
Build coalition against Iranian nuclear weapons

WALZ: Israel's ability to be able to defend itself is absolutely fundamental. What we've seen out of Vice President Harris is we've seen steady leadership. We've seen a calmness that is able to be able to draw on the coalitions, to bring them together, understanding that our allies matter. When our allies see Donald Trump turn towards Vladimir Putin, turn towards North Korea, when we start to see that type of fickleness around holding the coalitions together--we will stay committed. We will protect our forces and our allied forces, and there will be consequences.

VANCE: Governor Walz just accused Donald Trump of being an agent of chaos, Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world, and he did it by establishing effective deterrence.

WALZ: We had a coalition of nations that had boxed Iran's nuclear program in. Donald Trump pulled that program and put nothing else in its place. So Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before because of Donald Trump's fickle leadership.

Click for Tim Walz on other issues.   Source: 2024 Vice Presidential debate: Tim Walz vs. JD Vance

JD Vance on War & Peace : Oct 1, 2024
Trump deterred Iran; Biden-Harris unfroze $100B

Q: Would you support a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran?

WALZ: Israel's ability to defend itself is absolutely fundamental. What we've seen out of Vice President Harris is we've seen steady leadership. Our allies see Donald Trump turn towards Vladimir Putin, turn towards North Korea--fickleness around holding the coalitions together.

VANCE: Gov. Walz just accused Donald Trump of being an agent of chaos, Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world, and he did it by establishing effective deterrence. People were afraid of stepping out of line. Iran, which launched [against Israel today's missile] attack, has received over $100 billion in unfrozen assets thanks to the Kamala Harris administration. What do they use that money for? They use it to buy weapons that they're now launching against our allies and, God forbid, potentially launching against the United States as well. Donald Trump recognized that for people to fear the United States, you needed peace through strength.

Click for JD Vance on other issues.   Source: 2024 Vice Presidential debate: Tim Walz vs. JD Vance

Kamala Harris on Principles & Values : Sep 22, 2024
Endorsed by 700 national security officials

Over 700 national security and military officials endorsed Kamala Harris for president in a letter that said the vice president "defends America's democratic ideals" while former President Trump "endangers" them.

The letter criticizes Trump for praising "adversarial dictators" including China's Xi Jinping, North Korea's Kim Jung-un, and Russia's Vladimir Putin, "as well as the terrorist leaders of Hezbollah," while denigrating the U.S.

"The contrast with Mr. Trump is clear: where Vice President Harris is prepared and strategic, he is impulsive and ill-informed. We do not agree on everything, but we all adhere to two fundamental principles," the letter said. "First, we believe America's national security requires a serious and capable Commander-in-Chief. Second, we believe American democracy is invaluable."

"Our endorsement of Harris is an endorsement of freedom and an act of patriotism. It is an endorsement of democratic ideals and of relentless optimism in America's future."

Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: Axios.com on 2024 Presidential hopefuls & endorsements

Ryan Binkley on Foreign Policy : Feb 5, 2024
Quick to aid allies, willing to extend hand of diplomacy

Russia's illegal war against Ukraine, China's increasingly aggressive imperialism, and the continued provocations from North Korea demonstrate the fragile state of our national security.

The way to freedom is an America that is proud and secure in its place in the world, unflinching in the face of tyranny, slow to anger, quick to aid its allies, but always willing to extend the hand of diplomacy to anyone who will take it in good faith.

Click for Ryan Binkley on other issues.   Source: 2024 Presidential campaign website Binkley2024.com

Nikki Haley on War & Peace : Dec 6, 2023
Win in Ukraine to protect Taiwan from China

When it comes to China and Taiwan, the one way that we keep China from going into Taiwan is, one, make sure that we win in Ukraine, that we protect our friends, but also let China know that there'll be hell to pay if they go into Taiwan. They need to know that there is going to be a force that's going to go against them and they need to know it's not just going to be the United States. That is why we need to build our partnerships with India, with South Korea, with Japan, with the Philippines, with Australia. We need to start pulling that alliance together.

If China pulled the rug out from under us tomorrow, would we be ready? Think about what happened during COVID. Everybody told you to wear a mask, they were made in China. Everything that happened, if you go to the drugstore, all those medicines are made in China. We have to make sure that we are not relying on China for anything related to our national security, which means let's start focusing on doing deals with our friends now.

Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: NewsNation 2023 Republican primary debate in Alabama

Chris Christie on Foreign Policy : Nov 8, 2023
It's the price we pay for being leaders of the free world

Q: How long should Americans be expected to help fund the war in Ukraine?

Gov. Christie: Let's remember the last time that we turned our back on a shooting war in Europe. It bought us just a couple of years and then 500,000 Americans were killed in Europe to defeat Hitler. This is not a choice. This is the price we pay for being the leaders of the free world. And the fact is this alliance is not just with Russia and China. Iran is in the middle of this as well, and so is North Korea. And the reason they're doing it is because dictators work together. People who believe in democracy work together. We must stand with all of those that are standing up for democracy and freedom in this world. And let's remind everybody of this: In 1992, this country made a promise to Ukraine. We said if you return nuclear missiles that were part of the old Soviet Union to Russia and they invade you, we will protect you. An American promise that's 31 years old--we need to stand by it.

Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: NBC News 2023 Republican primary debate in Miami

Chris Christie on Foreign Policy : Nov 8, 2023
Work with reasonable Arab nations to isolate Iran

Q: What to do in the Middle East?

Chris Christie: Make sure that we continue to isolate Iran, work with the reasonable nations in the Middle East, the other Arab nations who want to partner with you and make sure that we continue to isolate Iran so that their only friends in the world are the part of the evil foursome, China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: NBC News 2023 Republican primary debate in Miami

Chris Christie on War & Peace : Jun 12, 2023
Support for Ukraine is really a proxy war with China

On Ukraine I will say this. I think the way we need to look at this is, this is a proxy war with China. The Chinese are supplying the Russians with money by buying their oil. The Chinese are providing drones to the Iranians, and the Iranians are using those drones to kill soldiers in Ukraine. So, none of us like the idea that there's a war going on and that we're supporting it. But the alternative is for the Chinese to take over, the Russians, the Iranians, and the North Koreans, a bad foursome.

If I were President Zelenskyy, I'd want everything too. But there's going to come a point, if Ukraine is aggressive enough and we're giving them the arms and support that they need, that both Ukraine and Russia are going to understand that it's time to end the killing and there may have to be some kind of compromise. That's what we should be in the middle of trying to foster, once we get in a position where Ukraine can protect the land that's been taken by Russia in this latest incursion.

Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall: interviews of 2024 presidential candidates

Vivek Ramaswamy on Foreign Policy : Jun 8, 2023
Shift focus from NATO to PATO, for Pacific/Asian security

[In discussing NATO and Ukraine, Ramaswamy says the US might] "stop paying for the security infrastructure of Europe and revisit the purpose of NATO itself. I see a more pressing need for PATO, the Pacific American Treaty Organization, than I see for NATO, to actually rise to the occasion of the threat that we see in the 21st century," referencing China.

He would seek to form that alliance with South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and "much of Southeast Asia" to push back on Beijing. "I think there's a world in which Russia even plays a role with that," he said.

The idea of an "Asian NATO" has been around for years, though as of now there's no real movement to create one. The entrepreneur's ultimate vision is one of a "trilateral order" where the top three powers are the U.S., China and Russia. The key, he argues, is severing ties between Moscow and Beijing to eliminate that support for Xi's government.

Click for Vivek Ramaswamy on other issues.   Source: Politico.com on 2024 Presidential hopefuls

Nikki Haley on Foreign Policy : Jun 4, 2023
Kim Jong-un is a thug; nothing good or decent about him

Kim Jong-un is a thug. And if you see what he has done to his own people in North Korea when money went to North Korea, it didn't go to feed their people. It went to feed their nuclear program. There's nothing good or decent about Kim Jong-un. There's no reason we should ever congratulate the fact that they are now Vice Chair of the World Health Organization. And it goes to the fact that, also, the World Health Organization is a farce to start with. We saw that during COVID.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall: interviews of 2024 presidential candidates

Nikki Haley on Free Trade : Jun 4, 2023
When I was governor, I sold South Carolina to everyone

I don't want our farmers to just sell to China. I will be their ambassador. In South Carolina, when I was governor, I sold South Carolina to everyone. I will sell our Iowa farmers and all of their products to Japan, to Australia, to South Korea, to Israel. We can sell it to other countries.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall: interviews of 2024 presidential candidates

Nikki Haley on Foreign Policy : May 7, 2023
Successfully got sanctions placed against North Korea

After North Korea fired ballistic missiles in 2017, Nikki pushed for stronger sanctions. This was no easy feat. Through extensive negotiations, Nikki convinced all 15 members of the UN Security Council, including China and Russia, to support the toughest-ever set of sanctions on North Korea. These sanctions cut North Korean exports by 90% and were a massive economic hit to the regime.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: 2024 Presidential campaign website NikkiHaley.com

Bernie Sanders on Health Care : Apr 1, 2023
Vermont forced to repeal single-payer healthcare system

The Soviet empire was a social and economic failure. North Korea, despite the opulence of its tyrants, is one of the poorest nations in the world. Cuba is so corrupt that its people regularly risk their lives to escape to Florida on rafts. Venezuela was once the richest nation in South America; today, a decade after a Marxist dictator took over, 94 percent of Venezuelans live in poverty. Even socialist Senator Bernie Sanders' home state of Vermont was forced to repeal the state's single-payer health care system just three years after creating it. In every case, socialist elites promised that if only they could direct the economy, everything would be better. Very quickly, everything got worse. In socialist nation after socialist nation, the only way the government could keep its disgruntled people in line was to surveil and terrorize them.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Project 2025, by the Heritage Foundation, p. 48

Larry Elder on War & Peace : Mar 3, 2022
Biden should have done more to prevent Ukraine invasion

More could have and should have been done by President Joe Biden and our European allies to prevent this invasion. Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan caused China, Iran and North Korea to perceive Biden as weak. During 2021, America, according to the Energy Information Administration, imported a monthly average of 670,000 barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia, smashing the previous record set in 2011.
Click for Larry Elder on other issues.   Source: Presidential 2024 campaign press release on Creators.com

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy : Oct 22, 2020
Trump has legitimized North Korea, a rogue state

Q: President Trump says that the Obama/Biden administration left him "a mess" in North Korea. Did you?

BIDEN: North Korea is a problem, and we're going make sure we can control them and make sure they cannot hurt us. If you want to do something about it, step up and help. If not, it's going to continue." What has he done? He's legitimized North Korea. He's talked about his good buddy, who's a thug. He talks about how we're better off. And they have much more capable missiles, able to reach US territory much more easily than before. The Korean Peninsula should be a nuclear free zone.

TRUMP: I met with Obama, he said, "The biggest problem we have is North Korea." He indicated we will be in a war with North Korea. I have a good relationship with Kim. We have a good relationship and there's no war. Having a good relationship with leaders of other countries is a good thing.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Third 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Kristen Welker

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Oct 22, 2020
At peace with North Korea due to my friendship with Kim

TRUMP: I met with Obama, he said, "The biggest problem we have is North Korea." He indicated we will be in a war with North Korea. I have a good relationship with Kim. We have a good relationship and there's no war. And about two months ago, he broke into a certain area. They said, "Oh, there's going to be trouble." I said, "No, because he's not going to do that." I was right. We don't have a war and I have a good relationship. Having a good relationship with leaders of other countries is a good thing.

BIDEN: What has he done? He's legitimized North Korea. He's talked about his good buddy, who's a thug. He talks about how we're better off. The Korean Peninsula should be a nuclear free zone.

TRUMP: They left me a mess. North Korea was a mess, and it was a very dangerous period in my first three months before we worked things out a little bit. . They left us a mess, and Obama would be, I think, the first to say it, was the single biggest problem he thought that our country.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Third 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Kristen Welker

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy : Oct 15, 2020
America First means America Alone

We're more isolated in the world than we ever have been. Our "America First" has made "America Alone." You have Iran closer to having enough nuclear material to build a bomb. North Korea has more bombs and missiles available to it. We find ourselves where our NATO allies are publicly saying they can't count on us.

We find ourselves, in the Western Pacific, where we're isolated as well. You have Japan and South Korea at odds with one another. China is making moves. So I would say, we're find ourselves less secure than we've been. I do compliment the president on the deal with Israel recently. But if you take a look, we're not very well trusted around the world. When 17 major nations in the world were asked who they trust more, who's a better leader, and the president came in behind both, the international survey, both behind Putin, as well as Xi. And look what Putin is doing.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Second 2020 Presidential Debate/ABC Town Hall Philadelphia

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Sep 15, 2020
I'm bringing troops back, when advisers wanted war

I'm bringing our troops back from Afghanistan. I'm bringing our troops back from Iraq. We're almost out of almost every place. You know, everybody said--because of my personality, they said, "he'll be in a war immediately."

Look at North Korea, how that's worked out. We haven't--the sanctions are on. Everything's the same. We haven't spent anything. We're getting along with him. I get along with Kim Jong-un. That was supposed to be a war.

If President Obama were president, if Hillary Clinton ever got in, that would be a war, probably a nuclear war with North Korea. In the meantime, I'm getting calls all the time from friends of mine in South Korea. Thank you. We love you. Thank you. It's really been rather amazing.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: ABC This Week: special edition 2020 Town Hall interview

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Jun 21, 2020
2018: End South Korean war games to deal with North Korea

Q: On North Korea: What concerns did you have about that?

John BOLTON: I was very concerned that he would give away things that he didn't need to give away. He told Kim Jong Un we would give up, what he called, "the war games on the Korean peninsula." The president didn't seem to understand that the war games, as he called them, were critical to American and South Korean ability to be ready to withstand pressure from North Korea.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: ABC This Week interview of John Bolton(Trump Administration)

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy : Feb 25, 2020
Meet with North Korea and China together

Q: How would you deal with North Korea?

BIDEN: You don't negotiate with a dictator, give him legitimacy without any notion whether he is going to do anything at all. You don't do that. Look what happened. [President Trump] gave this dictator--he's a thug--legitimacy. We've weakened the sanctions around the world.

Q: So what would you do?

BIDEN: I would be in Beijing, I would be speaking with Xi Jinping. I would be reassigning the relationship between the Japan and South Korea, and I would make it clear to China, we are going to continue to move closer to make sure that we can, in fact, prevent North Korea from launching missiles to take them down.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary

Bernie Sanders on War & Peace : Feb 7, 2020
Killing bad leaders leads to international anarchy

There are bad leaders all over the world. Kim Jong-un in North Korea is probably responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of his people. We cannot go around saying you're a bad guy, we're going to assassinate you. If that happens, you're opening the door to international anarchy that every government in the world will then be subjected to attacks and assassination. What we have got to do is strengthen the State Department and our diplomatic capabilities.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH

Donald Trump on Homeland Security : Jan 21, 2020
South Korea should pay for $10B missile defense system

Trump's first complaint was to repeat what he had vented about to his national security advisor months earlier: South Korea should pay for a $10 billion missile defense system that the United States built for it. The system was built to shoot down any short and medium range missiles from North Korea to South Korea and American troops stationed there. But Trump argued that South Koreans should pay for it, proposing that the administration pull US troops out of the region or bill the South Koreans for their protection.

"We should charge them rent," Trump said of South Korea. We should make them pay for our soldiers. We should make the money off everything." Trump said U.S. troops and defense systems in South Korea did not make Americans safer. He said he could eliminate the nuclear threat on the peninsula simply by striking a deal with North Korean dictator Kim Jun Un. " This is all about leader versus leader. Man versus man. Kim versus me, he said."

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: A Very Stable Genius, by P.Rucker & C.Leonnig, p.133-4

Kamala Harris on Foreign Policy : Nov 20, 2019
Trump got punked by North Korea

Q: North Korea is threatening to cancel any future summits if President Trump does not make concessions on nuclear weapons. Would you make concessions to Kim Jong-un?

HARRIS: With all due deference to the fact that this is presidential debate, Donald Trump got punked. He has conducted foreign policy out of a very fragile ego that fails to understand that one of the most important responsibilities of the commander-in-chief is to concern herself with the security of our nation and homeland. And to do it in a way that understands that part of the strength of who we are as a nation is not only that we have a vibrant military, but that we are respected because we keep to our word, we are consistent, we speak truth, and we are loyal.

Q: But would you make concessions to North Korea to keep talks going?

HARRIS: Not at this point. There are no concessions to be made. Trump has traded a photo-op for nothing. Trump has compromised our ability to have a check on North Korea's nuclear program.

Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: November Democratic primary debate in Atlanta

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Sep 10, 2019
You can never show weakness; you've got to project strength

In a tweet on September 23, Trump called [North Korean President] Kim "Little rocket Man". Trump was in the president's front cabin on Air Force One; Fox News was on the TV. "Little Rocket Man", Trump said proudly. "I think that may be my best nickname ever."

"It's funny," [said one advisor], "and it certainly seems to have gotten under Kim's skin." But, he asked, "What's the end game here if we continue to amp up the rhetoric and get into a war of words and it escalates, what are you hoping to get out of this? How does this end?"

"You can never show weakness," Trump replied. "You've got to project strength. Kim and others need to be convinced that I'm prepared to do anything to back up our interests."

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Fear: Trump in the White House, by Bob Woodward, p.281

Marianne Williamson on War & Peace : Aug 16, 2019
North Korea: Partial sanction relief for some disarming

Sanctions are a form of economic warfare with a high rate of failure. We can achieve superior outcomes with clear-eyed respect and steps towards thawing the ice. This could help improve our relationship with Kim Jong Un and de-escalate threats from North Korea. Action might include partial sanctions relief in exchange for some serious dismantling of their nuclear weapons program, as steps towards de-escalation and improved relations.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.   Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential primary

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Jun 30, 2019
Talk to adversaries but we need more than photo ops

I have no problem with [Trump] sitting down with Kim Jong-un in North Korea or any place else. But I don't want it simply to be a photo opportunity, the whole world's media was attracted there. What's going to happen tomorrow and the next day? He has weakened the State Department. If we're going to bring peace to this world, we need a strong State Department, we need to move forward diplomatically, not just do photo opportunities.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: ABC This Week 2019 interview

Kamala Harris on Foreign Policy : Jun 27, 2019
Trump embracing Korean & Russian dictators is a threat

Q: What is the greatest national security threat to the United States?

A: It's Donald Trump. You want to talk about North Korea, a real threat in terms of nuclear arsenal, but what does he do? He embraces Kim Jong-un, a dictator, for the sake of a photo op. Putin--you want to talk about Russia? He takes the word of the Russian president over the word of the American intelligence community when it comes to a threat to our democracy and our elections.

Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)

Mike Pence on War & Peace : Apr 17, 2019
North Korea must abandon its nuclear ambitions

"But the era of strategic patience is over," he declared. "President Trump has made it clear that the patience of the United States and our allies in this region has run out and we want to see change. We want to see North Korea abandon its reckless path of the development of nuclear weapons, and also its continual use and testing of ballistic missiles is unacceptable."
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: PBS Newshour "North Korea," on 2020 presidential hopefuls

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Mar 8, 2019
Countries hosting US troops should pay for them

The administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil--plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them. His insistence on it almost derailed recent talks with South Korea over the status of 28,000 U.S. troops in the country when he overruled his negotiators with a note to National Security Advisor John Bolton saying, "We want cost plus 50."
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Bloomberg News, "Huge Premium" on 2020 presidential hopefuls

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Feb 5, 2019
My good relationship with North Korea has prevented war

We continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Our hostages have come home, nuclear testing has stopped, and there has not been a missile launch in 15 months. If I had not been elected President, we would right now, be in a war with North Korea with potentially millions of people killed. My relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2019 State of the Union address to United States Congress

Tulsi Gabbard on Foreign Policy : Jan 20, 2019
Defends meeting Syria's Assad; supports Trump on North Korea

Q: You met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during that trip to Syria in 2017...

A: It continues to be very important for any leader in this country to be willing to meet with others, whether they be friends or adversaries or potential adversaries, if we are serious about the pursuit of peace and securing our country. It's why I have urged and continue to urge President Trump to meet with people like Kim Jong-un in North Korea, because we understand what's at stake here.

Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.   Source: CNN 2019 "State of the Union" on 2020 Presidential hopefuls

Nikki Haley on Foreign Policy : Dec 13, 2018
Helped broker U.N. sanctions on North Korea

According to former national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Haley played a "central role" in brokering the U.N. sanctions on North Korea. "She has what we call strategic empathy," he says. "She's able to take problems from the perspective of others and then frame these problems from their perspective. What she was particularly adept at doing was convincing others why it was in their interest to join us."
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: The Washington Examiner on Trump Cabinet

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Sep 25, 2018
Reject ideology of globalism; embrace doctrine of patriotism

President Donald Trump blamed Iranian leaders for sowing "chaos, death and destruction" in a steely speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that heavily emphasized the president's support of national sovereignty over globalism.

Touting his meeting this year with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and blasting Iran for spreading mayhem in the Middle East, Trump offered an impassioned defense of a foreign policy doctrine he said would allow countries to reject "global governance."

"We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism," Trump said. "We will never surrender America's sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable, global bureaucracy."

Trump's remarks were buffeted by warnings from other world leaders that America's pullback from the international institutions was ill-conceived and even dangerous. "Do not accept the erosion of multilateralism. Don't accept our history unraveling," the President of France said.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: USA Today on Trump Administration UN Speech

Mike Pence on War & Peace : Sep 9, 2018
Progress toward denuclearization & peace on Korean Peninsula

Q: Is diplomacy stalled on North Korea?

PENCE: We're making progress restoring American strength in the world, seeing the opportunity for peace emerge on the Korean Peninsula. We're expecting a letter from Kim Jong-un communicating his reaffirmation of his commitment to denuclearization. No more nuclear tests. No more missile tests. Our hostages are home. That's all the result of the President's leadership.

Q: But the Secretary of State called off his visit?

PENCE: The President canceled the meeting a week ago because he wasn't seeing enough progress in denuclearization that that may well have resulted in what Kim Jong-un communicated to a South Korean envoy just last week, and we're anticipating the letter from Kim Jong-un and all the while our sanctions remain in place.

Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls

Marco Rubio on War & Peace : May 27, 2018
North Korea's nukes are about prestige, not about diplomacy

Q: You said you 100% support President Trump's decision to pull out of the North Korean summit?

RUBIO: The first thing we all have to do is stop pretending that we're dealing with the old Soviet Union, or that we're negotiating with Italy or France. This is a very erratic regime that's very distrustful and paranoid about the rest of the world. They've never dealt with outsiders, they don't have an established diplomatic core. They have no history of it. And Kim Jong-un has a personal psychological attachment to these nuclear weapons. They make him feel prestigious; they make him feel powerful. And they have, quite frankly, been what his regime has been known for since he took over seven years ago. This is a man who has to figure out how to survive in power for 50-something years as a dictator and is probably afraid that if he gets rid of these weapons at some point, someone's going to take him out.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: ABC This Week 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls

Marco Rubio on War & Peace : May 27, 2018
North Korea should denuclearize, but I'm not optimistic

Q: Do you support the summit meetings between President Trump and with Kim Jong-un?

RUBIO: It depends. North Korea is a strange place. They're playing a game. Kim Jong-un, these nuclear weapons are something he's psychologically attached to. They're what give him the prestige and importance. We're not talking about him because of his global and economic power. We're talking about them because they have nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. And he knows that. And so for him to give that up is going to be very difficult. So, my suspicion remains that he is going to try to get as much sanctions relief as possible without having to give up his weapons. And I think it's going to be a lot of twists and turns along the way to try to get there, if it's even possible. But I hope I'm wrong. I would love to see them denuclearize. I'm not very optimistic about that.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls

Mike Pence on War & Peace : Feb 22, 2018
America stands up to North Korea and murderous dictatorships

You know, for all the media fawning over the sister of the North Korean dictator, I think it's important that every American knows who this person is and what she's done. The sister of Kim Jong-un is a central pillar of the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet--an evil family clique that brutalizes, subjugates, starves, and imprisons its 25 million people. I say: The United States of America doesn't stand with murderous dictatorships. We stand up to murderous dictatorships. And we will keep standing strong until North Korea stops threatening our country, our allies, or until they abandon their nuclear and ballistic missiles once and for all.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: Speech at the 2018 CPAC Convention

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Jan 30, 2018
Sanctions on Communist dictators in North Korea & Cuba

My Administration has imposed tough sanctions on the communist and socialist dictatorships in Cuba and Venezuela. But no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea.

North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland. We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from happening.

Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this dangerous position. We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and our allies.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2018 State of the Union address

Tulsi Gabbard on Foreign Policy : May 27, 2017
Skeptical of Iran nuclear deal

Gabbard told Fox News she was "cynical" toward the pact and agreed with host Greta van Susteren that it was akin to Neville Chamberlain's infamous Munich agreement with Hitler in 1938. On the day the agreement was finalized, she issued a statement saying, "We cannot afford to make the same mistake with Iran that was made with North Korea," citing North Korea's abrogation of the Agreed Framework agreement it had signed in 1994.
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.   Source: Jacobin Mag., "Not your friend": 2020 presidential hopefuls

Asa Hutchinson on Foreign Policy : Apr 28, 2017
Eradicate North Korean leadership, but no assassinations

Gov. Kasich said that President Trump ought to "eradicate" North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his top lieutenants in a surgical military strike designed to give rise to a more benign leadership in Pyongyang.

In a discussion with reporters in Washington, Kasich evaluated the escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula and suggested that Trump devise a plan to swiftly eliminate North Korea's leadership. "How do you deal with this? I think there might be a way, and that has to do with taking out the North Korean leadership," Kasich said. He added, "I believe the best way to solve this problem is to eradicate the leadership. I'm talking about those who are closest to making the decisions that North Korea's following now."

Kasich stopped short of explicitly recommending that US forces assassinate North Korea's leaders, but what he described would be a military & intelligence exercise. "The North Korean top leadership has to go. There are ways in which that can be achieved," Kasich said.

Click for Asa Hutchinson on other issues.   Source: Washington Post on 2018 Arkansas gubernatorial race

Marco Rubio on War & Peace : Apr 23, 2017
We cannot live in a world where North Korea can nuke us

Q: Are we going to war with North Korea?

RUBIO: I hope not. Obviously, we have to ask ourselves a very fundamental question. And that is, "can we live in a world where Kim Jong-un possesses not just nuclear weapons, but the ability to deliver those weapons against the continental US?" If the answer is yes, then I suppose that there are all sorts of things we would not do. If the answer is no--and the answer is no for me--then the options before you are truly quite limited. And none of those options are good. We must do almost whatever it takes, just about anything, to prevent Kim Jong-un from acquiring a nuclear capability he can deliver against the US mainland.

Q: So, what is the endgame? Removing all missiles?

RUBIO: The best possible outcome would be that he walks away from his long-range missile program. That's an unacceptable risk that. That cannot happen. If he continues to test them, if he continues to make progress in that direction, then we have got a big problem.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: CBS Face the Nation 2017 interviews of 2020 hopefuls

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Mar 2, 2017
North Korea has no economic future if they retain nukes

We've made a lot of progress, and we'll continue to make progress. And I really think what we're doing there is very important. But we actually had to walk, but I think we had a very good meeting. In fact, when I came home, they put out a statement that, actually, they were willing to do much less on the sanction front. But you see, that's not what happened there. So already, I think we're negotiating. And I'll tell you this: North Korea has an incredible, brilliant economic future, if they make a deal. But they don't have any economic future if they have nuclear weapons. It's really a bad thing for them. So we'll see how it all goes. But I think it's going well. I think we learned a lot over the last couple of days.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Speech at the 2019 CPAC Convention

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Jan 2, 2017
Disallow North Korea from developing nuclear delivery system

President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that North Korea won't reach the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon that will be able to hit the United States: "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!" the president-elect wrote.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said during his annual New Year's address that preparations for launching an intercontinental ballistic missile have "reached the final stage." The development came after the country claims it tested its first hydrogen bomb last year.

North Korea, which has been at odds with the United States since the start of the Korean War in 1950, first tested a nuclear weapon in 2006. A nuclear test was conducted last year on Jan. 6.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Politico.com analysis of 2017 Trump transition Twitter post

Mike Pence on War & Peace : Oct 4, 2016
Peace with North Korea through US strength

Q: How would you prevent North Korea from developing a nuclear-armed missile?

PENCE: We need to rebuild our military, including modernizing our nuclear forces. We need an effective American diplomacy that will marshal the resources of nations in the Asian Pacific Rim to put pressure on North Korea, on Kim Jong-un, to abandon his nuclear ambitions. When Donald Trump is president, we're not going to have the world flouting American power. We're going back to the days of peace through strength.

KAINE: You asked the question about how deal with a North Korea. I'm on the Foreign Relations Committee. We just did an extensive sanctions package against North Korea. The U.N. followed and did this -- virtually the same package. Often China will use their veto in the Security Council to veto a package like that. They're starting to get worried about North Korea, too. So they actually supported the sanctions package, even though many of the sanctions are against Chinese firms.

Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University

Jill Stein on War & Peace : Sep 27, 2016
Libyan invasion was a catastrophe that inflamed the Mideast

HILLARY CLINTON: Words matter when you are president. And I want to reassure our allies in Japan and South Korea and elsewhere that we have mutual defense treaties, and we will honor them. Our word is good. People around the word follow our presidential campaigns so closely, trying to get hints about what we will do. Can they rely on us? Are we going to lead the world with strength and in accordance with our values? That's what I intend to do.

DR. JILL STEIN: Let's be mindful here of Secretary Clinton's track record. Was the invasion of Libya an example of how we lead with strength consistent with our values? It would be hard to imagine a more catastrophic war than what took place in Libya, that helped strengthen ISIS, that helped release an incredible stockpile of weapons, further inflaming the crisis and the violence in the Middle East. Clinton has said she would like to impose a no-fly zone over Syria, which basically means we are going to war with Russia, [who fly in that airspace].

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: DemocracyNow interview on First 2016 Presidential Debate

Donald Trump on Homeland Security : Sep 26, 2016
We defend Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia: they need to pay

TRUMP: We defend Japan, we defend Germany, we defend South Korea, we defend Saudi Arabia, we defend countries. They do not pay us. But they should be paying us, because we are providing tremendous service and we're losing a fortune. It's very possible that if they don't pay a fair share, because this isn't 40 years ago where we could do what we're doing. We can't defend Japan, a behemoth, selling us cars by the million. They may have to defend themselves or they have to help us out. We're a country that owes $20 trillion. They have to help us out.

CLINTON: I want to reassure our allies in Japan and South Korea and elsewhere that we have mutual defense treaties and we will honor them. It is essential that America's word be good. On behalf of a majority of the American people, I want to say that our word is good.

TRUMP: And as far as Japan is concerned, I want to help all of our allies, but we are losing billions and billions of dollars. We cannot be the policemen of the world.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University

Donald Trump on Homeland Security : Aug 23, 2016
South Korea and Japan should pay 100% of US military costs

The news coming out of the meeting was about Trump saying that maybe the United States didn't need to put so much money into NATO, the core of the European-American security alliance since the Cold War-- the kind of statement that might win nods or applause at a rally, but sparked shock and ridicule in the corridors of think tanks and policy shops in Washington.

"NATO was set up when we were a richer country," Trump said. "We're not a rich country. We're borrowing, we're borrowing all of this money."

But you do know, editorial writer Charles Lane said, that South Korea and Japan pay half of the administrative cost of keeping the American military in those countries, right?

"Fifty percent?" Trump asked.

"Yeah," Lane confirmed.

"Why isn't it one hundred percent?"

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Trump Revealed, by Michael Kranish & Mark Fisher, p. 11

Mike Pence on Free Trade : Jul 14, 2016
Supports TPP and trade agreements with Pacific Rim and China

Before he became Trump's vice-presidential nominee, Mike Pence supported every free-trade agreement that came before him. That record puts him squarely at odds with Trump on one of the signature issues of the businessman's presidential campaign. Pence wrote, "Reducing tariffs and other trade barriers is something that Congress must do. I encourage your support for any trade-related measures when they are brought before the Congress."
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: Washington Post, "Huge supporter," on 2016 Veepstakes

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Apr 1, 2016
Develop nukes in South Korea & Japan to counter North Korea

At the Nuclear Security Summit, the president was asked for his reaction to Trump's suggestion that US allies Japan and South Korea manufacture their own nuclear weapons as a defense against North Korean aggression. Obama said the comments "tell us the person who made the statements doesn't know much about nuclear policy, or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally." White House aides pointed out that Trump's policy would reverse decades of bipartisan US foreign policy and would increase nuclear proliferation.

Trump has argued that allowing Japan and South Korea to get the weapons would relieve the US of defending their East Asia allies. Foreign leaders from both countries have dismissed the idea. "You have so many countries already--China, Pakistan, you have so many countries, Russia--you have so many countries right now that have them," Trump said during a CNN town hall. "Now, wouldn't you rather, in a certain sense, have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons?"

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: NBC News, "Nuclear Weapons," by Andrew Rafferty

Marco Rubio on Foreign Policy : Feb 25, 2016
Stay with Japan & South Korea or they will be nuclear powers

RUBIO: Donald says South Korea needs to contribute more to Asia-Pacific defense. South Korea contributes $800 million a year to that effort. Japan contributes as well. Here's why our commitment to that regional security is so critical. If we walk away from them, Japan and South Korea will become nuclear weapons powers. That's what they will do if the American defense agreements wither away, which is why we have to rebuild the military.

TRUMP: I never said walk away. I wouldn't want to walk away. I want them to pay us much more money.

RUBIO: How much?

TRUMP: A lot. I'll negotiate a lot more money than you'll ever get.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: 2016 CNN-Telemundo Republican debate on eve of Texas primary

Donald Trump on Homeland Security : Feb 25, 2016
Charge rich countries like Germany more to defend them

KASICH: We're in agreement that the Japanese need to do more. We're in agreement that the Europeans need to do more. But, at the same time, we have to rebuild the military. I have a balanced budget plan that cuts taxes, reforms regulations, but also builds the military, puts a $100 billion dollars more in defense.

TRUMP: We can no longer defend all of these countries, Japan, Germany, South Korea. You order televisions, you order almost anything, you're getting it from these countries. They are making a fortune. We defend all of these countries for peanuts. You talk about budgets. We have to start getting reimbursed for taking care of the military services for all of these countries.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2016 CNN-Telemundo Republican debate on eve of Texas primary

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Feb 10, 2016
China should make Kim Jong Un disappear

Trump was asked how he would respond to North Korea's nuclear threat. "I would get China to make that guy disappear in one form or another very quickly," Trump said. He didn't clarify whether disappearing was equivalent to being assassinated but said, "Well, I've heard of worse things, frankly."

"I mean, this guy's a bad dude, and don't underestimate him," Trump said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "Any young guy who can take over from his father with all those generals and everybody else that probably want the position, this is not somebody to be underestimated."

Trump maintained that China has control over North Korea and the US has control over China--thus "China should do that," he said. "China has control--absolute control--over North Korea. They don't say it, but they do," Trump explained. "And they should make that problem disappear. China is sucking us dry. They're taking our money. They're taking our jobs. We have rebuilt China with what they've taken out."

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Nolan McCaskill on Politico.com on Foreign Influences

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Feb 4, 2016
I worry about Putin in Crimea but worry more about N. Korea

Q: Secretary of Defence Ash Carter said Russia is the most important national security threat. Do you agree?

SANDERS: No I don't. I worry about Putin and his military adventurism in the Crimea, but I worry more about an isolated country. Russia lives in the world. China lives in the world. North Korea is a strange country because it is so isolated, and I do feel that a nation with nuclear weapons, they have got to be dealt with.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Feb 4, 2016
North Korea is run by nuclear-armed paranoid dictator

North Korea is an isolated country run by a handful of dictators, or maybe just one, who seems to be somewhat paranoid. And, who had nuclear weapons. Our goal there is to work and lean strongly on China to put pressure. China is one of the few major countries in the world that has significant support for North Korea, and we got to do everything we can to put pressure on China. I worry about an isolated, paranoid country with atomic bombs.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Jan 14, 2016
China totally controls North Korea; they're just taunting us

Without China, North Korea doesn't even eat. China is ripping us on trade. They're devaluing their currency and they're killing our companies. We've lost between four and seven million jobs because of China. What I said then was, "we have very unfair trade with China. We're going to have a trade deficit of 505 billion dollars this year with China. I would start taxing goods that come in from China.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Fox Business Republican 2-tier debate

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Jan 7, 2016
Lean on China to deal with North Korea

Q: North Korea claims to have exploded another nuclear bomb, perhaps a hydrogen bomb. If you were in the Oval Office, what would you do about it?

SANDERS: First of all, we're going to have to lean on China. China is North Korea's closest ally. They're gonna have to push North Korea to start adhering to international agreements.

Q: How do we lean on China?

SANDERS: We have a relationship with China. China is equally concerned about what North Korea is doing. North Korea is a paranoid, isolated nation. When you have a hydrogen bomb, if that's true, you're a threat to China as well.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos

Donald Trump on Technology : Dec 15, 2015
Close our Internet up, to fight ISIS terrorist recruitment

Q: You recently suggested "closing that Internet up," as a way to stop ISIS from recruiting online. Some say that would put the US in line with China and North Korea.

TRUMP: ISIS is recruiting through the Internet. ISIS is using the Internet better than we are using the Internet, and it was our idea. I want to get our brilliant people from Silicon Valley and other places and figure out a way that ISIS cannot do what they're doing. You talk freedom of speech. I don't want them using our Internet to take our young, impressionable youth. We should be using our most brilliant minds to figure a way that ISIS cannot use the Internet. And then we should be able to penetrate the Internet and find out exactly where ISIS is and everything about ISIS. And we can do that if we use our good people.

Q: So, are you open to closing parts of the Internet?

TRUMP: I would certainly be open to closing areas where we are at war with somebody. I don't want to let people that want to kill us \use our Internet.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2015 CNN/Salem Republican two-tier debate

Donald Trump on Homeland Security : Nov 10, 2015
We worry about Iranian nukes but why not North Korean nukes?

It's not only Russia [that we're having trouble with]. We have problems with North Korea where they actually have nuclear weapons. You know, nobody talks about it, we talk about Iran, and that's one of the worst deals ever made. One of the worst contracts ever signed, ever, in anything, and it's a disgrace. But, we have somebody over there, a madman, who already has nuclear weapons we don't talk about that.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Fox Business/WSJ First Tier debate

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Sep 28, 2015
Reimbursement for US military bases in rich countries abroad

As for nations that host US. military bases, Trump said he would charge those governments for the American presence. "I'm going to renegotiate some of our military costs because we protect South Korea. We protect Germany. We protect some of the wealthies countries in the world, Saudi Arabia. We protect everybody and we don't get reimbursement. We lose on everything, so we're going to negotiate and renegotiate trade deals, military deals, many other deals that's going to get the cost down for running our country very significantly."

Trump then got into a specific example: Saudi Arabia, one of the more important US allies in the Middle East. Saudis "make a billion dollars a day. We protect them. So we need help. We are losing a tremendous amount of money on a yearly basis and we owe $19 trillion," he said.

Walking back trade deals and agreements that allow the US military to operate overseas is easier said than done. But Trump has tapped into a powerful anti-Washington populist sentiment.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Foreign Policy Magazine on 2016 presidential hopefuls

Marco Rubio on Foreign Policy : Sep 16, 2015
North Korea is run by a maniac with nuclear weapons

If you're running for president, [foreign policy] are important issues, because look at around the world today.

There is a lunatic in North Korea with dozens of nuclear weapons and long-range rocket that can already hit the very place in which we stand tonight. The Chinese are rapidly expanding their military. They hack into our computers. They're building artificial islands in the South China Sea, the most important shipping lane in the world.

A gangster in Moscow is not just threatening Europe, he's threatening to destroy and divide NATO. You have radical jihadists in dozens of countries across multiple continents. And they even recruit Americans using social media to try to attack us here at home.

And now we have got this horrible deal with Iran where a radical Shia cleric with an apocalyptic vision of the future is also guaranteed to one day possess nuclear weapons and also a long-range rocket that can hit the United States.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Sep 16, 2015
We must deal with the maniac in North Korea with nukes

[With regards to the Iranian nuclear deal]: Nobody ever mentions North Korea where you have this maniac sitting there and he actually has nuclear weapons and somebody better start thinking about North Korea and perhaps a couple of other places. You have somebody right now in North Korea who has got nuclear weapons and who is saying almost every other week, "I'm ready to use them." And we don't even mention it.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN

Bernie Sanders on Homeland Security : Sep 5, 2015
Reduce nuclear budget by $100B; end proliferation worldwide

Bernie has stated unequivocally that we must limit nuclear proliferation and work towards a safer world free of nuclear weapons: "I strongly agree with President Obama's call for 'a world without nuclear weapons.' As has been made apparent by recent provocative actions by North Korea and Iran, the threat of nuclear weapons is a present threat to the security of America and the world. We must limit nuclear proliferation, now and in the future. We must end the production of weapons-grade uranium. And we must heed what President Obama has called our 'moral responsibility' to lead the way toward reducing, and eventually eliminating, nuclear weapons."

It is with this vision in mind that Bernie supports the Iran nuclear pact. Similarly, Bernie has been working to reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles around the world. In 2015, Bernie co-sponsored the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures Act, which would reduce the nuclear weapons budget by $100 billion over the next ten years.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"

Jill Stein on Homeland Security : Jul 6, 2015
Disarm North Korea as part of worldwide nuclear disarmament

OnTheIssues: How to deal with North Korea?

Stein: That's a complicated problem in a society that has many issues and struggles but that also includes Korea's history of violence and imperialism, from both Japan and the US. There is a history of incredible distrust and aggression--it's important to understand that.

OnTheIssues: And what about their nuclear capability?

Stein: To build a nuclear free world--we've been addressing non-proliferation for a long time without address nuclear disarmament. Non-proliferation was supposed to be a phase through which we passed on the way to nuclear disarmament. They see nuclear weapons as essential, from their viewpoint, to defend their sovereignty.

OnTheIssues: So you mean we should lead by example?

Stein: We should lead by virtue of global agreements that also include us. We could get rid of MANY nukes as a first step because we're so far ahead [in possessing more nuclear weapons than the rest of the world].

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: Phone interview on 2016 presidential race by OnTheIssues.org

Marco Rubio on Foreign Policy : Dec 21, 2014
North Korea is a criminal syndicate, not a government

Q: The North Koreans have warned that there will be repercussions if we respond [to the cyber-attack on Sony in retaliation for an anti-North Korea movie]. They're saying that we should join them in investigating this. Should that be taken seriously?

RUBIO: No, it shouldn't. Look, the North Koreans, it's not even a government. It's a criminal syndicate that controls territory and need to be treated as such. Now, unfortunately, they possess nuclear weapons and are led by an irrational leader. North Korea is going to be a growing problem for the foreseeable future. You have a person running that country that is mentally unstable, but also someone that is fully capable of overestimating his own strength and ends up miscalculating and creating a real catastrophe, not just vis-a-vis South Korea, but also Japan and the United States. This is a very serious threat. It's not just a cyber-threat. I think North Korea has the potential to become a source of huge instability.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: Face the Nation 2014 interview: 2016 presidential hopefuls

Marco Rubio on Technology : Dec 21, 2014
Release anti-North Korea movie despite cyber-attack

Q: Let me ask you about [Sony being cyber-attacked in retaliation for an anti-North Korea movie]. You asked the president "to undo the damage to freedom of speech and expression" caused by Sony's decision not to release this movie. What exactly do you want him to do?

RUBIO: First of all, the president in his end-of-year press conference alluded to the fact that there will be response and a strong one and a measured one, but one that's reciprocal. And I will support that. But, second, it's important that that movie be played, that that movie be seen. I don't even know if it's a good movie, but I think it's now important that that happen, that we figure out way to get that out there so Americans can watch it. It's unacceptable that this attack not just on our country, not just on a business located in America, but on our constitutional freedoms, if it's unresponded to, if it stays the way it is now, it is going to be an incentive for others to try and do the exact same thing in the future.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: Face the Nation 2014 interview: 2016 presidential hopefuls

Bernie Sanders on Principles & Values : Mar 6, 2014
My form of democratic socialism is not Communism

Q: You identify as a democratic socialist. Polling suggests that Americans are not so bothered by the term, but that our media has a really hard time with it.

A: In Vermont, people understand exactly what I mean. They don't believe that democratic socialism is akin to North Korea communism. When I talk about democratic socialism, what I'm saying is that I do not want to see the US significantly dominated by a handful of billionaire families controlling the economic & political life of the country. That I do believe that in a democratic, civilized society, all people are entitled to health care as a right, all people are entitled to quality education as a right, all people are entitled to decent jobs and a decent income, and that we need a government which represents ordinary Americans and not just the wealthy and the powerful. Very sadly, the corporate media ignores some of the huge accomplishments that have taken place in Scandinavia, with a long history of democratic socialism.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: The Nation 2014 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls

Marco Rubio on War & Peace : Apr 14, 2013
Goal for Korea: denuclearize the peninsula and to unify it

Q: On North Korea, are we following the right policies?

RUBIO: I believe the administration has acted responsibly. I think they've done three things that are important:

  1. They've made very can clear that there is not going to be any food or any conceptions in exchange for downsizing these provocations.
  2. They've repositioned assets, to do two things--they protect the US and our territory, but they also let our allies understand clearly that we are going to live up to our security commitments.
  3. I'm also encouraged that Secretary Kerry went to China and met with the president of China. Hopefully we can get the Chinese to recalibrate their relationship to North Korea and realize that what's there now on that peninsula is unsustainable.
The ultimate solution to the Korean problem is to denuclearize the peninsula and to unify it. And that's the goal we should be working towards, because what North Korea has is not a government, what North Korea is being run by is a criminal syndicate.
Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: CBS Face the Nation 2013 series: 2016 presidential hopefuls

Bernie Sanders on Budget & Economy : Dec 10, 2010
Why did we bail out South Korea?

I think the American people are interested to know that the Fed bailed out the Korea Development Bank, the wholly owned, state-owned Bank of South Korea, by purchasing over $2 billion of its commercial paper. The sole purpose of the Korea Development Bank is to finance and manage major industrial projects to enhance the national economy not of the United States of America but of South Korea. I am not against South Korea. I wish the South Koreans all the luck in the world. But it should not be the taxpayers of the United States lending their banks' money to create jobs in South Korea. I would suggest maybe we want to create jobs in the United States of America. At the same time, the Fed also extended over $40 billion for the Central Bank of South Korea so that it had enough money to bail out its own banks.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: The Speech: A Historic Filibuster, by Bernie Sanders

Marco Rubio on Free Trade : Aug 11, 2010
Continue reducing barriers to free and fair trade

We must continue reducing barriers to free and fair trade. We should adopt the free trade agreements that have already been negotiated with Colombia, Panama, South Korea and other nations around the world. We should also insist that other countries reduce their own barriers to trade so that American goods can find new markets.
Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: 2010 Senate campaign website, marcorubio.com "Reclaim"

Joe Biden on War & Peace : Jul 31, 2007
Bush invaded Iraq as the weakest of the Axis of Evil

The Bush neo-cons identified the biggest threats--North Korea, Iran, & Iraq. Toppling the Taliban had been a nice start for the Neo-cons, but they thought the way to handle the world's malcontents and to avoid war was to take out one of the "axis of evil leaders in a way that made the others quake. They wanted to leverage our nation's awesome military power in a way that sent a strong message: enable terrorists and we'll wipe you out. You're either with us, Bush liked to say of his "war on terror," or you're against us.

I thought this approach was flawed. The facts showed that terrorist groups didn't base their training camps in countries with strong governments or dictators; they found safe haven in failed states & grew stronger in the vacuum of power.

There was a lot of noise about overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Of the three Axis of Evil countries, Iraq was the country that could put up the least military resistance, and I believed Cheney & Rumsfeld were pushing the president toward an invasion

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Promises to Keep, by Joe Biden, p.330-331

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy : Apr 26, 2007
Biggest threat to US is from North Korea, Iran, & Russia

Q: What three nations, other than Iraq, represent, to you, the biggest threat to the United States?

A: The biggest threat to the US is, right now, North Korea. Iran not as big a threat, but a long-term threat. And quite frankly, the tendency of Putin to move in a totalitarian direction, which would unhinge all that's going on positively in Europe.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Jul 2, 2000
Use force to stop North Korean nuke development

[In a Trump presidency], North Korea would suddenly discover that its worthless promises of civilized behavior would cut no ice. I would let Pyongyang know in no uncertain terms that it can either get out of the nuclear arms race or expect a rebuke similar to the one Ronald Reagan delivered to Ghadhafi in 1986. I don’t think anybody is going to accuse me of tiptoeing through the issues or tap-dancing around them either. Who else in public life has called for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea?
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.274

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