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Martin O`Malley on War & PeaceDemocrat |
O'MALLEY: I believe that we need to focus on destroying ISIL. That is the clear and present danger. And I believe that we can springboard off of this new U.N. resolution; there should be a political process. But we shouldn't be the ones declaring that Assad must go. Where did it ever say in the Constitution, where is it written that it's the job of the United States of America or its secretary of State to determine when dictators have to go? We have a role to play in this world. But it is not the role of traveling the world looking for new monsters to destroy.
CLINTON: Assad has killed, by last count, about 250,000 Syrians. The reason we are in the mess we're in, that ISIS has the territory it has, is because of Assad. I advocated arming the moderate opposition back in the day when I was still secretary of State, because I worried we would end up exactly where we are now.
SANDERS: The US is not the policeman of the world.
O'MALLEY: This actually is America's fight. It cannot solely be America's fight. America is best when we work in collaboration with our allies. America is best when we are actually standing up to evil in this world. And ISIS, make no mistake about it, is an evil in this world. And we do have a role in this. Not solely ours, but we must work collaboratively with other nations. The great failing of these last 10 or 15 years has been our failing of human intelligence on the ground. Our role in the world is not to roam the globe looking for new dictators to topple. Our role in the world is to make ourselves a beacon of hope, but also to confront evil when it rises. We took out the safe haven in Afghanistan, but now there is, undoubtedly, a larger safe haven and we must rise to this occasion in collaboration and with alliances to confront it, and invest in the future much better human intelligence so we know what the next steps are.
O'MALLEY: No commander in chief should take the military option off the table, even if most agree it should be the last option. What disturbed people so much was leading us into Iraq under false pretenses and telling us there were weapons of mass destruction there was one of the worst blunders in modern American history.
SANDERS: She is talking about a no-fly zone in Syria, which I think is dangerous.
O'MALLEY: I would not be so quick to pull for a military tool. I believe that a no-fly zone in Syria, at this time would be a mistake. You have to enforce no-fly zones, and I believe, especially with the Russian air force in the air, it could lead to an escalation.
Speaking on ABC's "This Week," O'Malley called the potential of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon one of the world's greatest man-made threats. He supports ongoing nuclear talks between the Obama administration and Iranian leadership.
O`MALLEY: The greatest danger that we face right now on a consistent basis in terms of manmade threats is nuclear Iran and related to that, extremist violence. I don't think you can separate the two. I think they go together. We have to confront both of these issues, and it starts with supporting the president in achieving that negotiated settlement.