State of Washington secondary Archives: on War & Peace


Dino Rossi: Setting deadline for Afghan withdrawal would aid terrorists

Rossi said setting a deadline for withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan would aid terrorists. "What they will do is go hide out in their caves and wait until we leave," Rossi said. "We have to give our military every tool possible so they can achieve their objective and come home as soon as possible."

But Murray said she supports a timetable for withdrawal. Murray said. "We owe it to [military families] to know where and how long they're going to be there."

Source: The Spokesman-Review coverage of 2010 WA Senate debate Oct 15, 2010

Maria Cantwell: Leave Afghanistan in 2014 as planned

Baumgartner, who has worked as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan, said he wants to "end the war in Afghanistan now" and use the savings to help with domestic finances. "We have a foreign policy disaster now in the Middle East," he said. "Sen. Cantwell has been consistently in support of poorly planned wars."

Cantwell countered that she supports Pres. Obama's plans to withdraw troops in 2014, and she said Pres. Bush deserved blame for not fully funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Source: The Seattle Times on 2012 WA Senate debate Oct 12, 2012

Michael Baumgartner: We're wasting resources on democracy-building in Afghanistan

Baumgartner's experience in war zones has also molded his understanding of foreign policy. Unlike many Republicans, he believes the US is wasting its resources on democracy-building in Afghanistan. A more targeted military approach would have worked better and saved trillions of dollars, he said. "Government doesn't come in a box," he said. "It comes through legitimate local growth."

Foreign policy isn't typically the building block of a statewide campaign. Baumgartner acknowledged that most voters care more about domestic issues, especially the economy. That hasn't deterred him. "In my view, people don't care enough about the war," he said. "My interest in foreign policy is above the average voter's interest. That doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it."

[In his campaign], he draws on the lessons of the war zone. "When we were in Iraq & Afghanistan, you didn't sit around thinking about all the things you couldn't do," Baumgartner said. "You thought about the things you could get done."

Source: Seattle Times on 2012 WA Senate debate Sep 15, 2012

Michael Baumgartner: Leave Afghanistan now & use funds domestically

Baumgartner, who has worked as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan, said he wants to "end the war in Afghanistan now" and use the savings to help with domestic finances. "We have a foreign policy disaster now in the Middle East," he said. "Sen. Cantwell has been consistently in support of poorly planned wars."

Cantwell countered that she supports Pres. Obama's plans to withdraw troops in 2014, and she said Pres. Bush deserved blame for not fully funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Source: The Seattle Times on 2012 WA Senate debate Oct 12, 2012

Patty Murray: Voted against the war because we didn't have a clear mission

NETHERCUTT: I'll stay in lock step with the commitment to win the war on terror. This is a fight that we must take on, in my judgment. This is one venue in the continuing war on terror that is the most insidious challenge of our time-to win the war on terror. She voted against the war, against taking on Saddam. That was the wrong decision. My goal is to make sure we stand up a government there, to give the people of Iraq a chance to be free.

MURRAY: Saddam was an evil tyrant and we're all glad he's gone. I voted against the resolution to go to war in Iraq because we did not have a clear mission, we didn't have a clear exit strategy, we were not honest with the American public about the costs-both in lives and in dollars. We're there now and we must make sure our troops have on the ground the equipment and supplies and support that they need. We must reach out to other nations to get their support as well, because we cannot continue to endure the costs of this conflict.

Source: [Xref Nethercutt] WA Senate Debate Oct 20, 2004

Patty Murray: Set timetable for Afghan withdrawal

Rossi said setting a deadline for withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan would aid terrorists. "What they will do is go hide out in their caves and wait until we leave," Rossi said.

But Murray said she supports a timetable for withdrawal. "We have a number of military families who have sacrificed so much for our nation," Murray said. "We owe it to them to know where and how long they're going to be there and how much more sacrifice they have to give."

Source: The Spokesman-Review coverage of 2010 WA Senate debate Oct 15, 2010

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