State of Connecticut secondary Archives: on War & Peace
August Wolf:
We can't trust the Iranian terrorist regime with nukes
August Wolf is airing his first commercial: a cable television ad urging US Sen. Richard Blumenthal to oppose the proposed US-Iran nuclear deal. Rather than introduce himself, Wolf opted in the first ad of the 2016 season to focus attention on whether
Blumenthal will support a deal that would lift sanctions on Iran in return for controls on its ability to develop nuclear weapons. "We can't trust the Iranian terrorist regime with nuclear weapons," Wolf says in the ad.His spokesman said the campaign
has purchased between $15,000 and $20,000 in ads on cable television in the New Haven and Hartford markets in an effort to start a public conversation. "We'll see how it delivers," the spokesman said.
Blumenthal recently quizzed Pentagon officials about the proposed deal, but he is undecided, unlike his Democratic ally from New York, US Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has announced his opposition.
Source: Connecticut Mirror AdWatch on 2016 Connecticut Senate race
Aug 20, 2015
Chris Murphy:
Executing foreign political figures opens Pandora's box
We do not generally execute high-level political figures of sovereign nations, in part because we know that that opens a
Pandora's box it may expose American officials to assassination, but also because we know that, ultimately, that might get more Americans killed as it like the will in this case.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2020 on 2018 Connecticut Senate race
Jan 5, 2020
Chris Murphy:
It's dangerous that administration is not talking to Iran
It's dangerous that this administration is not talking to the Iranians. The Trump policy on Iran has been a total disaster. Iran is more powerful today than they were at the beginning of the Trump presidency. They have restarted their nuclear program.
They're shooting at U.S. troops. They're offering up more support for proxies. I'm not negotiating with Iran, but it does make sense for somebody to be listening to them as perhaps a means of trying to avert crisis down the road.
Source: CNN 2020 interview with Connecticut Senator
Feb 23, 2020
Dan Carter:
ISIS threat is very real both at home and abroad
Dick Blumenthal has been timid and indifferent to the growth of ISIS--which has proven to be a very real threat both at home and abroad. Contrary to what Obama & Blumenthal believe, ISIS is not the "JV Team". While ISIS and their self-radicalized
believers continue to kill innocent children, and adults, both within the United States and across the globe, Senator Blumenthal prefers to focus on photo ops and political stunts which only serves to distract the public from the real issues at hand.
Source: 2016 Connecticut Senate campaign website CarterForSenate.com
Aug 8, 2016
Matthew Corey:
Increase American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts
Q: Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon?A: Yes.
Q: Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?
A: No.
Source: VoteSmart Connecticut 2018 Political Courage Test
Jul 4, 2018
Joseph Lieberman:
Overthrowing Saddam was right, and we can't abandon Iraq now
Q: The reason we are here tonight is because of the war. You're aware that you've taken an unpopular stand, and you have been asking Democrats all along, from your first ad on, please overlook this, look at my past accomplishments.
But how can you ask Democrats to overlook or look past what they consider to be the central issue of the race? A: My position on Iraq has been clear. And I believe it was the right thing for us to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
I have been critical of the things that the administration did after that. But the fact is, we're there now. And we have a choice. And that choice is between helping the Iraqis achieve a free and independent Iraq or abandoning them and letting
the terrorists take over. The latter choice is one we cannot make. And I have leveled with people about it and asked them to respect me for having the guts to take an unpopular political position.
Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate
Jul 6, 2006
Joseph Lieberman:
Getting out too soon will be a disaster for Iraq and for us
LIEBERMAN [to Lamont]: This piece of paper shows on one day in March you support redeployment of troops. Then you said you're not willing to set a timetable for withdrawal. Then you said I think it's time for the troops to start heading home. Do you
support a specific deadline for getting out of Iraq? LAMONT: Absolutely. Like Chris Dodd, like the heart of the Democratic Party, I supported both of those amendments [setting a deadline for withdrawal]. It's time for us to change course. Time for us
to start getting our frontline troops out of harm's way, within the next six months, and we get our troops out of Iraq over the course of the next year. That fundamentally is a change of direction. You have an open-ended stay-the-course strategy.
LIEBERMAN: Absolutely untrue. I have said the sooner we get out of Iraq, the better. But if we get out too soon, it will be a disaster for the Iraqis and for us. If you tell your enemy when you're going to leave, they'll wait and create disaster.
Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate
Jul 6, 2006
Linda McMahon:
Support sanctions on Iran; keep all options on table
Q: Do you believe the sanctions on Iran are proving effective?BLUMENTHAL: I support strengthening the current structure of sanctions on Iran, until it relinquishes its aspirations for nuclear weapons.
McMAHON: The first, and most important, thing we
must do is prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The CIA has already declared that Iran is capable of producing nuclear weapons within the next few years. While I support building strong international support for sanctions, we cannot wait for the
United Nations to enact further restrictions that Iran will simply ignore. I do support the enactment of the recent sanctions by the US and the European Union on Iran. However, with that in mind, I believe the US cannot allow those who would oppose or
maliciously delay sanctions dictate the content or the timing of our efforts. The US should continue to exert pressure and press for hard sanctions against Iran until the threat is neutralized. All options in dealing with Iran must remain on the table.
Source: Connecticut Jewish Ledger coverage of 2010 CT Senate debate
Sep 29, 2010
Matthew Corey:
Strong proponent of the war in Iraq
In a debate with U.S. Rep John larson; Concerning foreign policy, Larson said the United States needs to avoid "the tragic mistake in Iraq'' in any future conflicts and must avoid being "the police force'' of the world.
But Corey, a U.S. Navy veteran, had a different view. "Whether you believe there [were] weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or not, it was a war worth going into,'' Corey said.
Source: Hartford Courant on 2018 Connecticut Senatorial race
Oct 6, 2016
Matthew Corey:
ISIS must be eliminated at all costs
Defense is vital to our nation's security and our state's economy. We can't afford to lose Federal contracts. Connecticut's economy depends on preserving the defense contracts. ISIS must be destroyed where ever it festers. We need strong leadership in
Washington with a clear mission to destroy this evil. If we elect to do nothing we will witness evil and genocide continue to destroy human life. Radical Islam will influence the youth in the region taking generations to eradicate.
Source: 2018 Connecticut Senate campaign website CoreyForSenate.com
Dec 12, 2017
Ned Lamont:
$250M per day in Iraq better spent on domestic issues
Ned Lamont slammed the Bush administration and Joe Lieberman, saying they pushed America into an ill-fated war in Iraq. "George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman rushed us into this war, got our 132,000 troops stuck in a bloody
civil war, and they should be held accountable," Lamont said.Lamont said people wonder why America can afford $250 million a day to fight in Iraq but can't afford universal health-care coverage, or "to give our kids a running head start," he said.
Source: Peter Urban in Connecticut Post
Jun 15, 2006
Ned Lamont:
Lieberman is only person confused about my position on Iraq
LIEBERMAN: My opponent is running against me on this one issue [of Iraq]. And yet even on this one issue, he has taken all sorts of positions. LAMONT: Senator, you're the only person in Connecticut who is confused about my position on the war in Iraq.
President Bush rushed us into this war. He told us it would be easy. We would be welcomed as liberators. Weapons of mass destruction. And Sen. Lieberman cheered on the president every step of the way, when we should have been asking the tough questions.
And this war is not a single issue, Senator. It says so much about what type of a country we are. The tens of thousands of people who have died and been wounded, the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been spent and wasted and the values,
the values about this country and our moral authority, and what it says about who we are. It's destabilized the Middle East, it was a mistake, and we should admit it.
Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate
Jul 6, 2006
Ned Lamont:
6 months to withdraw from front lines; 12 months out of Iraq
LIEBERMAN [to Lamont]: This piece of paper shows on one day in March you support redeployment of troops. Then you said you're not willing to set a timetable for withdrawal. Then you said I think it's time for the troops to start heading home. Do you
support a specific deadline for getting out of Iraq? LAMONT: Absolutely. Like Chris Dodd, like the heart of the Democratic Party, I supported both of those amendments [setting a deadline for withdrawal]. It's time for us to change course. Time for us
to start getting our frontline troops out of harm's way, within the next six months, and we get our troops out of Iraq over the course of the next year. That fundamentally is a change of direction. You have an open-ended stay-the-course strategy.
LIEBERMAN: Absolutely untrue. I have said the sooner we get out of Iraq, the better. But if we get out too soon, it will be a disaster for the Iraqis and for us. If you tell your enemy when you're going to leave, they'll wait and create disaster.
Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate
Jul 6, 2006
Richard Blumenthal:
Strengthen sanctions on Iran, adding an arms embargo
Q: Do you believe the sanctions on Iran are proving effective in preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons?BLUMENTHAL: The current political leadership in Tehran has repeatedly demonstrated antipathy toward basic human rights, and an unyielding
animosity toward Israel. I support strengthening the current structure of sanctions on Iran, and work to increase the pressure on the Iranian regime until it relinquishes its aspirations for nuclear weapons. Some of the actions I would support include
gaining international support for an arms embargo, targeted travel bans, freezing of assets, and sanctions designed to impede the flow of refined petroleum products into Iran.
McMAHON: The first, and most important, thing we must do is prevent
Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The US should continue to exert pressure and press for hard sanctions against Iran until the threat is neutralized. All options in dealing with Iran must remain on the table.
Source: Connecticut Jewish Ledger coverage of 2010 CT Senate debate
Sep 29, 2010
Richard Blumenthal:
Cautious support of Iran nuclear deal; needs more oversight
Sen. Richard Blumenthal is among a group of senate Democrats pushing a bill that would increase oversight of Iran's nuclear development program and increase military assistance to Israel. The legislation ups the ante on a multilateral deal passed last
month that allows sanctions on Iran to be lifted in exchange for a monitoring protocol for its nuclear facilities to ensure weapons aren't being constructed.When news of a brokered deal first emerged this summer, Blumenthal welcomed the use of
diplomacy but warned against deception. "While our common hope may be that diplomacy has succeeded in barring an Iranian path to nuclear weapons capability, Congress must apply exacting standards and strict scrutiny," he said at the time.
The newly
proposed legislation sets US policy on Iran to state explicitly that "Iran does not have an inherent right to uranium enrichment," and that "all of the options available to the US, including the military option, remain available."
Source: CT News Junkie on 2016 Connecticut Senate race
Oct 5, 2015
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023