CNN 2015 GOP primary debate: on Homeland Security
Ben Carson:
Use intellect instead of aggression in some circumstances
CARSON: I have no argument with having a strong leader, and to be aggressive where aggression is needed. But it is not needed in every circumstance. There is a time when you can use your intellect to come up with other ways to do things.
CHRISTIE: While that may be a fine idea, with [Al Qaeda on 9/11], these people were out to kill us.
CARSON: There is no question that a lot of these problems that we have been talking about in terms of the international situation is because we
are weak. It is because our Navy is so small. It is because our Air Force is incapable of doing the same things that it did a few years ago.
It's because our Marines Corps is not ready to be deployed. There are a lot of problems that are going on, and we need to solve those problems, we need to build up our military.
RUBIO: But radical terrorism cannot be solved by intellect.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Bobby Jindal:
Terrorists aren't martyrs; they're going straight to hell
We don't discriminate based on the color of skin or creed. You say to Muslim leaders, they have two responsibilities. One, it's not enough to denounce generic acts of violence. They have got to denounce the individuals by name and say
these are not martyrs. These terrorists are not martyrs; rather, they are going straight to hell. They are not going to enjoy a reward in their afterlife. Secondly, they have to embrace the same freedoms for everybody else they want for themselves.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Carly Fiorina:
We need strongest military & that whole world knows it
Let's talk about the future. We need the strongest military on the face of the planet, and everyone has to know it. And, specifically, what that means is we need about 50 Army brigades, we need about 36 Marine battalions, we need somewhere between 300
and 350 naval ships, we need to upgrade every leg of the nuclear triad. We need to reform the Department of Defense, we need to invest in our military technology, and we need to care for our veterans so 307,000 aren't dying waiting for health care.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Chris Christie:
On 9/11, I wondered whether I'd be a single parent
I was named U.S. attorney on September 10th, 2001. That next day my wife went to her office two blocks from the World Trade Center. After those planes hit, for five-and-a-half-hours, I didn't know whether she was dead or alive.
I had to confront the idea I might become a single parent. I support what President Bush did, going into Afghanistan, hunting al Qaeda and its leaders. Then he said don't prosecute these people after the crime is committed. Intervene before the crime.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Jeb Bush:
My brother kept us safe after 9/11
TRUMP [to Bush]: Your brother's administration gave us Barack Obama, because it was such a disaster, those last three months, that Abraham Lincoln couldn't have been elected.BUSH: As it relates to my brother, there's one thing I know for sure.
He kept us safe. You remember the fire fighter with his arms around it? He sent a clear signal that the United States would be strong and fight Islamic terrorism, and he did keep us safe.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Jeb Bush:
Stop the craziness of the sequester & rebuild the military
I'm going to create a strategy that is based on the simple fact that the United States needs to lead the world. The first thing that we need to do is to stop the craziness of the sequester. Rebuild our military so that we
don't deploy people over and over again without the necessary equipment to keep them safe, to send a signal to the world that we're serious. If we're going to lead the world, then we need to have the strongest military possible.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
John Kasich:
Iran nuke deal makes us stronger; we could restart sanctions
Q: What about the Iranian nuclear deal?KASICH: Well, first of all, I think it's a bad agreement, I would never have done it. But, you know, a lot of our problems in the world today is that we don't have the relationship with our allies.
If we want to go everywhere alone, we will not have the strength as much as if we could rebuild with our allies. Now, this agreement, we don't know what's going to happen in 18 months. I served on the Defense Committee for 18 years.
And, if we find out that they may be developing a nuclear weapon, than the military option is on the table. We are stronger when we work with the Western civilization, our friends in Europe, and just doing it on our own I don't think is the right policy.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Lindsey Graham:
We need to monitor Islamic websites
Kim Davis, I'm not worried about her attacking me. I am worried about radical Islamic terrorists who are already here planning another 9/11. We're at war, folks. I'm not fighting a crime. I want to have a legal system that understands the difference
between fighting a war and fighting a crime, and here's the reality. Young men from the Mideast are different than Kim Davis. And we've got to understand that. Islamic websites need to be monitored. And if you are on one, I want to know what you're doing
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Lindsey Graham:
Hillary Clinton let Benghazi become a death trap
I thought Secretary Clinton did a good job when it came to dealing with our problems in Africa, particularly among women. Here's my problem with Secretary Clinton. Where the hell were you on the night of the Benghazi attack?
How did you let it become a death threat to begin with? And why did you lie about what happened to these people? And if you want a new change in terms of foreign policy, don't pick her, because she's his secretary of state.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Lindsey Graham:
Give military leaders anything they need
Q: Would you authorize a nuclear strike against Iran's nuclear facilities?GRAHAM: If I believed they were trying to get a bomb, absolutely. And here's the most important thing: they know I would if I had to.
None of us are going to be able to defend this country adequately until we rebuild our military. The first thing I'm going to do as commander in chief on day one is call the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and say, what do you need that you don't have?
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Lindsey Graham:
Stop closing military bases; I'll open MORE bases
I will win a war that we can't afford to lose. I have a plan to destroy radical Islam because it has to be. These are religious Nazis running while President Obama has made one mistake after another and it's caught up with us.
I get my foreign policy from being in on the ground. I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan in the Middle East 35 times in the last decade, trying to understand how we got in this mess. On my watch, we're going to open up more bases.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Marco Rubio:
Radical terrorism cannot be solved by intellect
CARSON: I have no argument with being aggressive where aggression is needed. But it is not needed in every circumstance. There is a time when you can use your intellect to come up with other ways to do things.RUBIO: But radical terrorism cannot be
solved by intellect. It cannot--they require--what they need, is they need an operating space. That's what Afghanistan was for Al Qaida. It was a vacuum that they filled, and they created an operating space. That's why they had to be drawn out of there.
That's why they had to be destroyed. It is the reason why ISIS has grown as well. We allowed a vacuum to emerge in Syria. They used it as an operating space to grow; and today they're not just in Iraq and Syria anymore, they're now in Libya, conducting
operations in the Sinai. They're now in Afghanistan, trying to supplant the Taliban as the most powerful radical jihadist group on the ground there, as well. You cannot allow radical jihadists to have an operating safe haven anywhere in the world.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Marco Rubio:
Don't use military for pinpricks; only engage to win
Let's remember what the president said. He said the attack he would conduct would be a pinprick. Well, the United States military was not built to conduct pinprick attacks. If the United States military is going to be engaged by a commander-in-chief, it
should only be engaged in an endeavor to win. And we're not going to authorize use of force if you're not put in a position where they can win. Quite frankly, people don't trust this president as commander-in-chief because of that.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Marco Rubio:
We're eviscerating our military in dangerous times
These are dangerous times that we live in. And the next president better be someone that understands these issues and has good judgment about them because the number one issue that a president will ever confront, and the most important obligation
that the federal government has, is to keep this nation safe. We are not doing that. We are eviscerating our military. And we have a president that is more respectful to the ayatollah in Iran than he is to the prime minister of Israel.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Rand Paul:
Talk with Iran like we talked to Russians during Cold War
We continued to talk with the Russians throughout the Cold War. Should we continue to talk with Iran? Yes. Should we cut up the [Iranian nuclear inspection] agreement immediately? That's absurd. Wouldn't you want to know if they complied? Now, I'm going
to vote against the agreement because I don't think there's significant leverage, but it doesn't mean that I would immediately not look at the agreement, and cut it up without looking to see if whether or not Iran has complied.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Rick Santorum:
If you're a scientist & work on Iran nukes, you're not safe
Q: You said, "We should send a very clear message that If you are a scientist and you're going to work on a nuclear program to develop a bomb for Iran, you are not safe." SDO you still agree, after the catastrophic deal?SANTORUM: 12 years ago I
authored the Iran Freedom Support Act, which put sanctions on the Iran nuclear program. We came within 4 votes of passing it. The 4 people who opposed: Joe Biden, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. And we came four votes short.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Ted Cruz:
On day one, rip to shreds the Iranian nuclear deal
The next president will inherit President Obama's Iran deal. The single biggest national security threat right now is the threat of a nuclear Iran. This deal will send over $100 billion to the Ayatollah Khamenei, making the Obama administration
the world's leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism. This deal will accelerate Iran's acquiring nuclear weapons. If I am elected president, on the very first day in office, I will rip to shreds this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018