2014 NJ Senate debate: on Foreign Policy

Cory Booker: Where Israel's security is at stake, so is America's

Lasting security for Israel will ultimately require peace between Israel and its neighbors. That is why we as Americans must continue to work to facilitate direct negotiations that seek a two-state solution. However, it is the right of the Israeli government to make the tough decisions that are necessary to secure its future. The Palestinian People deserve a state, [but it] must not be a vehicle for the launching of attacks against Israel. During any eventual negotiation, certain things must remain non-negotiable, namely conditions that speak to Israel's right to exist as a secure Jewish state.

Cory Booker: Development funds via international organizations for Africa

Cory Booker: Robust diplomacy and international development

Cory Booker: No head in the sand; but no global police

Neither Booker nor Lonegan would qualify as a "hawk," but Booker is more receptive to the deployment of U. forces. Asked a Syria-inspired question in the first debate about "America's role in the world," Booker said the US should be willing to combat genocide, while Lonegan countered that the military's role is to "defend our borders and our trade routes."

That drew a rebuttal from Booker: "We cannot, like Mr. Lonegan suggests, just stick our heads in the sand and protect our borders. We have to be involved in the international community in a way that works with others to stop terrorism, other problems--famines to genocide--that are going on in the world," Booker said