2008 Republican primary debate, sponsored by Facebook, Jan. 5, 2008: on War & Peace
John McCain:
FactCheck: Yes, criticized Rumsfeld, but not before invasion
In his rush to criticize Donald Rumsfeld’s defense strategy, Sen. John McCain did some rewriting of his personal history. McCain said, “I strongly disagree with the strategy employed by Secretary Rumsfeld, and by the way,
I’m the only one here that disagreed at the time. And I said at the time I had no confidence in the then-secretary of defense.”It’s true that McCain was an early critic of Rumsfeld’s strategy in Iraq, as early as Nov. 2003.
And it’s also true that McCain refused to offer Rumsfeld a vote of confidence when President Bush reappointed Rumsfeld as secretary of defense following his 2004 reelection.
But McCain’s expression of no confidence came in December 2004--well into the
Iraq war. Rumsfeld’s decision to invade with a much smaller force than the one suggested by his more traditional generals--the famous “shock and awe” strategy--was implemented in March 2003.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Republican debate
Jan 5, 2008
Mike Huckabee:
FactCheck: Correct that Romney did support timed withdrawal
Huckabee charged that Romney had supported a timed withdrawal, and Romney countered, “I do not support and have never support a timed withdrawal. So that’s wrong, Governor. My policy is I’ve never talked about a time withdrawal with a date certain for
us to leave.” Huckabee wins this one. It’s true that Romney has never cited a date certain for pulling out the troops. But he has said that “there’s no question” there would have to be a timetable, it would just be kept hush-hush. Here’s what he told
ABC’s “Good Morning America” in April 2007:Q: Do you believe that there should be a, a timetable in withdrawing the troops?
ROMNEY: Well, there’s no question but that the president and Prime Minister al
Maliki have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about. But those shouldn’t be for public pronouncement. You don’t want the enemy to understand how long they have to wait in the weeds until you’re gonna be gone.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Republican debate
Jan 5, 2008
Fred Thompson:
We’re on the way to prevailing in Iraq for a safer US
We are in a global war with radical Islam. They declared war on us a long time ago. We took note for the first time on 9/11. We must do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves. We weren’t considered to be arrogant in Afghanistan when we went in
there & won that conflict. We made a mistake in terms of going into Iraq as far as the number of troops is concerned and a flawed strategy. That’s been rectified now. We’re on the way to prevailing there. Because of that, it’s going to be for a safer US.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Republican primary debate
Jan 5, 2006
Mike Huckabee:
We should go to war with the army that we need
There were times when the arrogance was reflected, for example, in the former defense secretary who, despite getting advice from the Defense Department that we would need 400,000 troops to be able to successfully bring stability to
Iraq, insisted that we would only use 180,000 troops and we would go in with a light footprint. There was one particular statement that he made that I found especially troubling. He said, “We don’t go to war with the army that we want; we go to war with
the army that we have.“ I felt that the proper way for us to approach this is we don’t go to war with the army we have, we go to war with the army that we need, and we make sure that we have what we need before we go to war, including a clear definition
of what we’re going to do, irresistible force when we do it, and once we do it, we don’t let the politicians interfere or interrupt the battlefield decisions of the commanders with blood on their boots and medals on their chest.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Republican primary debate
Jan 5, 2006
Mitt Romney:
You attack US and we respond; but use nonmilitary too
Q: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine, or would you change it? A: The president is not arrogant. The president is not subject to a bunker mentality. The president has acted out of his desire to keep America safe. And we owe him a debt of gratitude
for keeping this country safe over the last six years. He did the right thing in responding and reacting to the fact that we got attacked. And people now recognize: You attack America and there is a response.
But we’re going to have to move our strategy from simply being a response to military threat with military action, to an effort that says we’re going to use our military and nonmilitary resources, combined with other nations who are our friends, to help
move the world of Islam toward modernity and moderation. The new mission for NATO is to help provide the rule of law, education that’s not through madrassas, so the Muslims are able to reject the extreme and the terrorists.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Republican primary debate
Jan 5, 2006
Mitt Romney:
Supported the surge; never supported a timed withdrawal
ROMNEY: [to Huckabee]: I disagree with the governor writing in Foreign Affairs magazine that the president’s administration suffers from an arrogant bunker mentality. HUCKABEE: Did you read the article before you commented on it?
ROMNEY:
I did read the article, the whole article. I did support the surge. But, look, Governor, don’t try and characterize my position.
HUCKABEE: Which one? (LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: You know, we’re wise to talk about policies and not to make personal attacks.
HUCKABEE: Well, it’s not a personal attack, Mitt, because you also supported a timed withdrawal.
ROMNEY: I do not support and have never supported a timed withdrawal, so that’s wrong. My policy is,
I’ve never talked about a timed withdrawal with a date certain for us to leave. That’s not the case. Simply wrong. I’ve also supported the troop surge, and I supported it on the same day the president brought it forward.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Republican primary debate
Jan 5, 2006
Page last updated: Dec 01, 2018