State of Iowa Archives: on Homeland Security

Al Gore: Commit troops only if diplomacy fails and if it’s winnable

A: If we’re part of an international alliance [the rules are that]:
• Our commander in chief always retains command
• Military force is the only option that can solve the proble
• Military force, if used, will in fact solve the problem.
• Allies are ready to go in with us and share the burden.
• The expected cost is worth what we are protecting by way of our national security interests.

Barack Obama: Give 18-year-old women opportunity to serve

DODD: I don’t see a need for the draft. I don’t believe that is necessary. But if you are going to have one I think it ought to be gender neutral.

Q: If it did not necessarily mean military service, should the country examine registering women at 18?

CLINTON: Yes.

EDWARDS: Yes. But it’s absolutely crucial that we ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war. As with John Kennedy’s call to action, I think we need a president who asks Americans to sacrifice.

KUCINICH: We have to say no to a draft.

BIDEN: Yes ,and there should be universal service.

OBAMA: Yes. Every young person should have that opportunity to serve and do something that is bigger than themselves.

RICHARDSON: Yes. And I outlined a plan two years of college tuition paid off by the government, one year of national service

Bernie Sanders: Cut defense by $18B to pay for 55% of all college tuition

Bernie Sanders: Rid our planet of this barbarous organization called ISIS

SANDERS: Together, leading the world, this country will rid our planet of this barbarous organization called ISIS.

O'MALLEY: ISIS, make no mistake about it, is an evil in this world.

Q [to Clinton]: Was ISIS underestimated? In 2014, the president referred to ISIS as the "J.V."

CLINTON: ISIS has developed [since 2014]. I think that there are many other reasons why it has in addition to what happened in the region, but I don't think that the United States has the bulk of the responsibility. I really put that on Assad and on the Iraqis and on the region itself.

SANDERS: She said the bulk of the responsibility is not ours. Well, in fact, I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and to ISIS.

Bernie Sanders: We spend billions on nuclear weapons & only 10% on terrorism

Gov. O'MALLEY: The nature of warfare has changed. This is a new era of conflict where traditional ways of huge standing armies do not serve our purposes as well as special ops & better intelligence.

Secretary CLINTON: We do have to take a hard look at the defense budget and we do have to figure out how we get ready to fight the adversaries of the future, not the past. But we have to also be very clear that we do have some continuing challenges.

Bill Bradley: The UN, not the US, is the world’s policeman

Bill Richardson: 2 years of college tuition for 1 year of national service

A: My answer is yes. I outlined a plan: two years of college tuition paid off by the government, one year of national service. When it comes to the country sacrificing, and the people sacrificing, I sense that we need to pull together.

Bob Krause: Improve conditions for veterans, including PTSD & MSA

Bob is a retired colonel with service in the National Guard and Army Reserve. He is past Iowa state president of the Reserve Officers Association (ROA) and past national public affairs officer for the ROA. He also served as state chair of the Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus. He was military spokesperson during the mobilization of Des Moines's 3rd Corps Support Command when it was called up for Bosnia, and was also Army Reserve spokesperson during Hurricane Andrew in Florida. He travelled to Korea often and wrote a portion of the contingency war plan for the Korean theater.

Bruce Braley: Yes, missed 75% of Veterans' hearings; but made 97% of votes

"I've been there for veterans," he said. "I've made 97% of the votes at the VA hearing to stand up for veterans and I fight for them every day."

He also mentioned work he did to help specific groups of veterans get access to certain benefits.

Carly Fiorina: On Benghazi: I'm familiar with America's allies and enemies

Carly Fiorina: Benghazi matters because we didn't seek retribution

Carol Moseley-Braun: Color-coded warnings are no substitute for diplomacy

A: No. Duct tape, plastic sheeting and color codes are no substitute for diplomacy and for engaging our country in a global fight, a real fight against terrorism. This administration has pandered to fear. The color-coded system is just part and parcel of that. I think we’d be much better served to have the support for first responders, police & fire, our hospital systems, to protect our infrastructure, to give people a sense of security.

Chet Culver: More funding for veteran's jobs, homes, and education

• Providing unemployment benefits to spouses who move as a result of a spouses' deployment
• Enhancing housing benefits
• Adding more legal protections for service members
• Extending "non-professional" firearms permits for service members who are deployed by 90 days
• Prohibiting utilities from disconnecting service to families while a family member is deployed
• Creating a program to inform state employees who are military members of their rights and benefits while deployed
• Requiring Department of Administrative Services to develop programs to inform, train, and hire qualified disabled veterans for job opportunities in state government.

Chris Dodd: Strong advocate of universal national service

A: I’m the only candidate here who has articulated a large national service program. I served in the Peace Corps back in the 1960s. I joined because an American president asked me to. He invited a generation of us to be involved in things larger than ourselves. I don’t see a need for the draft. I don’t believe that is necessary. But if you are going to have one I think it ought to be gender neutral. But I believe we ought to do what Maryland has done. Maryland has a requirement that every high school student commit 100 hours of public service in your community. I’d like that to be a part of every community. So I’m a very strong advocate of universal national service--not required, but extending that invitation to people be involved.

Christopher Reed: Opposes the draft; all-volunteer force is best

Cindy Axne: Introduced bill supporting rural veteran mental health care

David Young: Soldiers deserve the best medical care available, period

When soldiers return home they deserve the best medical care available. Period. What has gone on in Veterans Administration hospitals around the country is inexcusable. David believes veterans should receive timely care either in a VA hospital or at a hospital of the veteran's choosing. David is a proponent of an exhaustive investigation into the poor practices of VA healthcare so we can be sure no more veterans are subjected to long waiting lists and sub-par treatment.

Dennis Kucinich: Weapons in outer space and missile shields are DOD waste

KUCINICH: I’m the ranking Democrat on a Department of Defense investigative subcommittee. I know the kind of waste that goes on there. There’s waste when you talk about building weapons in outer space; waste when you talk about building new nuclear weapons; waste when you talk about building a missile shield that even those who have studied it know that there’s been fraud involved in the development of it.

Dennis Kucinich: National service yes; military draft no

A: I think we need to move this country away from militarism and away from war as an instrument of policy, and reach out to our young people as John Kennedy did, and said ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. There are many different ways to serve. One is in the military--that’s honorable service, but at this time, when we have our young people in Iraq in a war based on lies, and we have this country preparing to go to war against Iran, I think that we have to say no to a draft, and put in the context that America must change its direction. If [service] means anything it should mean a new direction for America away from war and towards giving our young people a real future where they can use all their talents and ability serving in many different capacities.

Donald Trump: Defeat ISIS and stop Islamic terrorists

Trump said the country is in trouble and if he wins the presidency he would defeat ISIS and stop Islamic terrorists. He said he would reduce the federal budget deficit and build a fence on the nation's southern border to stop illegal immigration, adding, "I mean seriously securing" the border.

Doug Butzier: Stop expanding the military

A: Absolutely not. We have more than 1,000 military bases in over 130 countries worldwide.

Elizabeth Warren: Fight to get military benefits, but cut defense budget

CEO Tom STEYER: It isn't so much about experience, it's about judgment. What we are hearing is 20 years of mistakes by the government in the Middle East. So the real question is judgment. If you look who had the judgment, it was a state senator from Illinois with no experience named Barack Obama who opposed the war. An outside perspective, looking at this and actually dealing with the problems as they are is what we're looking for now.

Fred Hubbell: Respects and honors the military's courage and sacrifices

George W. Bush: Rebuild military power to deal with world of terror

Hillary Clinton: Examine registering 18-year-old women for selective service

DODD: I don't see a need for the draft. I don't believe that is necessary. But if you are going to have one I think it ought to be gender neutral.

Q: If it did not necessarily mean military service, should the country examine registering women at 18?

CLINTON: Yes.

EDWARDS: Yes. But it's absolutely crucial that we ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war. As with John Kennedy's call to action, I think we need a president who asks Americans to sacrifice.

KUCINICH: We have to say no to a draft.

BIDEN: Yes ,and there should be universal service.

OBAMA: Yes. Every young person should have that opportunity to serve and do something that is bigger than themselves.

RICHARDSON: Yes. And I outlined a plan two years of college tuition paid off by the government, one year of national service

Hillary Clinton: Adversaries of the future: terrorists as well as drone subs

Gov. O'MALLEY: This is a new era of conflict where traditional ways of huge standing armies do not serve our purposes as well as special ops, better intelligence and being more proactive.

Secretary CLINTON: We do have to take a hard look at the defense budget and we do have to figure out how we get ready to fight the adversaries of the future, not the past. But we have to also be very clear that we do have some continuing challenges. We've got challenges in the South China Sea because of what China is doing in building up military installations. We have problems with Russia: they allowed a TV camera to see the plans for a drone submarine that could carry a tactical nuclear weapon. So we've got to look at the full range and then come to some smart decisions about having more streamlined and focused approach.

Howard Dean: Saddam is a distraction; focus on Al Qaeda

DEAN: I actually don't believe that, because given the time that's elapsed, we could have done the proper thing, which George Bush's father did, and put together a coalition to go after somebody who was a regional threat but not a threat to the US. We need a concentrated attack on Al Qaeda and on Osama bin Laden. Saddam Hussein has been a distraction.

Jim Carlin: We must maintain military superiority over China

Jim Gilmore: Psychology services should be included in veteran benefits

Jim Gilmore: I think Gitmo ought to remain open

Jim Gilmore: Dangerous to give Iran option to develop nuclear program

Joe Biden: Universal national service, in military or Peace Corps

A: The answer is yes. In 1988, [we in Congress] not only introduced a bill for mandatory universal service, but you get to pick one of three things: if you chose the army, it's six months; if you chose a domestic Peace Corps, it's two years; if you chose foreign Peace Corps, you only have to do it a year. Everyone man and woman when they get to be eighteen they can chose what they want, but there should be universal service unless there is an extreme physical disability.

John Bolton: America is less secure now than we were six years ago

Americans expect that the president will alert them when there are threats and lay out a program to deal with those threats, but Barack Obama does not consider American national security a priority. He told us in 2008 that his top priority was to fundamentally transform the country, and national security is a distraction from that. I believe he is the first president, Republican or Democrat, since the attack on Pearl Harbor who does not wake up every morning and think, "What threats does America face today?"

The people saw happened last year, and they made Obama's national security failures critical in several key elections. I think the message was unambiguous.

John Edwards: Reduce $9B spending on missile defense

John Edwards: I think we need a president who asks Americans to sacrifice

DODD: I don't see a need for the draft. I don't believe that is necessary. But if you are going to have one I think it ought to be gender neutral.

Q: If it did not necessarily mean military service, should the country examine registering women at 18?

CLINTON: Yes.

EDWARDS: Yes. But it's absolutely crucial that we ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war. As with John Kennedy's call to action, I think we need a president who asks Americans to sacrifice.

KUCINICH: We have to say no to a draft.

BIDEN: Yes ,and there should be universal service.

OBAMA: Yes. Every young person should have that opportunity to serve and do something that is bigger than themselves.

RICHARDSON: Yes. And I outlined a plan two years of college tuition paid off by the government, one year of national service

Marco Battaglia: Rein in the military-industrial complex

A: I think that we need to rein in the military industrial complex, audit the fed and the pentagon, and reevaluate all of our three letter agencies. I believe in transparency and am against hidden budgets.

John Kerry: Bush misused the authority Congress gave him

A: Certainly not in its current status. But he has had it both ways. On October 6th, five days before we voted in the Senate, Governor Dean took a public position supporting the Biden-Lugar resolution, which gave authority to the president of the United States to go to war if he found that the diplomatic effort had been exhausted and all he had to do was write a letter. We voted to do it the right way. This president chose to do it the wrong way.

John Kerry: Color-coded warning system needs to be changed

A: No, I would change it. I think a lot of Americans are desperately trying to figure out what the codes mean, what the colors mean. They're kind of struggling to figure out what it means. I think Americans deserve something better. This president is actually playing to the culture of fear in our country. The war on terror is far less of a military operation and far more of an intelligence-gathering, law-enforcement operation.

John McCain: Women have proven themselves in combat-no restrictions

John McCain: Radical Islamic extremism is a hydra-headed challenge

Joni Ernst: Strong national defense makes the world is a safer place

Joni Ernst: I'm a veteran; honor and care for our nation's veterans

Joni Ernst: Keep veterans in forefront of all foreign policy decisions

Joni Ernst: Military experience always plays role in decision-making

Joni Ernst: I understand the importance a strong national defense

Ernst: Strongly Agree.

Question topic: Briefly list political or legislative issues of most concern to you.

Ernst: Defense/Military- As a veteran, I understand the importance a strong national defense, and taking care of those soldiers who have laid their lives on the line for our freedom.

Joseph Lieberman: Intelligence system must be reformed

A: What I'm concerned about is what's behind the Bush administration color-coded system. They have still not reformed our intelligence system as they should have. They have still not coordinated watch lists. I'm the only one on this stage who drafted the original homeland security bill. We have something to fear, but if we pull together with tough leadership, we can give the American people a sense of confidence about their security.

Joseph Lieberman: Win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world

A: I'm the one, who together with a few other members of the Senate, wrote the homeland security bill, because we were disorganized before 9/11 and the terrorists took advantage of it. One of the ways you do it is not only to use American military to capture and/or kill Al Qaida, you win the larger battle for the hearts and minds of the great majority in the Muslim world who are living desperately poor lives in despotic countries.

Marco Rubio: FactCheck: Yes, Air Force is now smallest in its history

Category	1968	1980	2015
Personnel	905,000	558,000	307,000
Aircraft	15,500	10,100	5,600
Budget (2015 $)	$545B	$393B	$140B

We checked other years too: between WWII and Vietnam, the counts were much higher due to the Korean War. In summary, any way you measure it, Rubio is correct: the Air Force is the smallest now whether you count personnel, aircraft, or budget.

Marco Rubio: Send more terrorists to Gitmo; find out everything they know

RUBIO: I believe the world is a safer and a better place when America is the strongest power in the world. And I believe only with a strong America will we defeat this radical group, this apocalyptic group called ISIS. That's why when I'm president we are going to rebuild our intelligence capabilities. And they're going to tell us where the terrorists are. And a rebuilt U.S. military is going to destroy these terrorists. And if we capture any of these ISIS killers alive, they are going to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and we're going to find out everything they know, because when I'm president, unlike Barack Obama, we will keep this country safe.

Martin O`Malley: Nature of warfare has changed: focus on intel, not armies

Gov. O'MALLEY: The nature of warfare has changed. [The war on terror] is not a conflict where we send in the third divisions of Marines. This is a new era of conflict where traditional ways of huge standing armies do not serve our purposes as well as special ops, better intelligence and being more proactive.

Secretary CLINTON: We do have to take a hard look at the defense budget and we do have to figure out how we get ready to fight the adversaries of the future, not the past. But we have to also be very clear that we do have some continuing challenges.

Michele Bachmann: No Miranda rights for terrorists; expand Guantanamo

BACHMANN: Because terrorists who commit acts against US citizens, people who are from foreign countries who do that, do not have any rights under our Constitution, nor Miranda rights. We've also seen that Guantanamo Bay has yielded significant information. In fact, we've learned that that led to the capture and the killing of bin Laden. This is a tool that we need to have in order to be able to prostitute the new type of war, the new type of warfare, and the new type of terrorists that this country is dealing with.

PAUL: She turns our rule of law on its head. I thought our courts recognized that you had to be tried. We've brought nearly 300 individuals from Pakistan and other places, given them a trial in this country, and put them in prison.

Newt Gingrich: Threat of militant Islam is comparable to pre-WWII Nazis

"Almost 14 years after 9/11, the United States of America is losing the war with radical Islam and we need to have the courage to confront how badly we are losing this war," Gingrich said. He emphasized several times that Americans need to know that Islamic militants are prepared to cut off the heads of Americans if they do not convert to Islam. Unfortunately, President Barack Obama appears to have a "speech impediment" that prevents him from saying the words "radical Islam," Gingrich said. "You are not going to win this war if you can't tell the truth. You can't win if you don't call it a war," he said.

Patty Judge: Military is last resort, when diplomacy is exhausted

Rand Paul: Let's get warrants the old-fashioned way: via 4th Amendment

RUBIO: When I'm president we are going to rebuild our intelligence capabilities. And they're going to tell us where the terrorists are. And if we capture any of these ISIS killers alive, they are going to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and we're going to find out everything they know.

PAUL: The bulk collection of your phone data, the invasion of your privacy did not stop one terrorist attack. I don't think you have to give up your liberty for a false sense of security. When we look at this bulk collection, the court has looked at this. Even the court declared it to be illegal. If we want to collect the records of terrorists, let's do it the old fashioned way. Let's use the Fourth Amendment. Let's put a name on a warrant, let's ask a judge for it. Let's respect the history of our country.

Rod Blum: Oppose FISA warrantless searches; oppose roving wiretaps

I oppose portions of the Patriot Act which, day after day, erode our civil liberty. Instead of researching what went wrong on 9/11, with the terror of those events fresh in our mind, Congress and the President feverishly signed this into law without even reading it. The Patriot Act allows roving wiretaps to our conversations no matter how minor and essentially repeals the 4th Amendment.

I oppose portions of the National Defense Authorization Act such as Section 1021, Indefinite Detention of anyone thus removing Habeas Corpus.

I oppose government interference in the Internet.

Ron Paul: Neither Dems nor GOP will cut one nickel from militarism

A: You have to allow liquidation of debt, eliminate the malinvestment. Then you go back and you can get growth again by having a better tax structure, lower taxes, invite capital back into this country, get a lot less regulations. And under those conditions, you can have growth again.

Q: And you can get it through a divided Congress?

A: Well... the divided Congress will exist for a long time to come. Yes, you would have to get it through a--you'd have to get it through a divided Congress. But the one thing is, if you approach it constitutionally and if you approach it on the principles of liberty, you can bring people together. If we have to cut, maybe we wouldn't be so--so determined that you can't cut one nickel out of the militarism around the world. Neither the Democrats or the Republicans want to cut that. So if you want to cut, you have to put the militarism on the table, as well.

Ron Paul: Many terrorists have been properly tried in US courts

BACHMANN: Because terrorists who are from foreign countries who commit acts against US citizens do not have any rights under our Constitution.

PAUL: She turns our rule of law on its head. She says that the terrorists don't deserve protection under our courts, but, therefore, a judgment has to be made. They're ruled a terrorist. Who rules them a terrorist? I thought our courts recognized that you had to be tried. And we've done this. We've brought individuals back from Pakistan and other places. We've given them a trial in this country, near 300, we tried and put them in prison. So this idea that we have to reject the rule of law, when you assume somebody is a terrorist, they can be targeted for assassination, even American citizens, that affects all of us eventually. You don't want to translate our rule of law into mob rule.

Ron Paul: 17,000 troops for Baghdad embassy? Come home!

A: I want to extend the tax cut, because if you don't, you raise the taxes. But I want to pay for it. And it's not that difficult. In my proposed budget, I want to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from overseas. The trust fund is gone. But how are we going to restore it? We have to quit the spending. We have to quit this being the policemen of the world. We don't need another war in Syria and another war in Iran. Just get rid of the embassy in Baghdad. We're pretending we're coming home from Baghdad. We built an embassy there that cost a billion dollars and we're putting 17,000 contractors in there, pretending our troops are coming home. I could save [billions] and we don't have to raise payroll taxes.

Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Dems don't say "Islamic" but do say "terrorism"

Giuliani is correct that in four debates the Democratic candidates have not uttered the words "Islamic terrorism" together, and have generally avoided making critical comments about Muslims. But Giuliani is wrong to imply that the Democrats have failed to address terrorism. Here is a sampling of what leading Democratic candidates said in one debate on June 3:

• Obama: "On this issue of terrorism: We have genuine enemies out there that have to be hunted down."
• Edwards: "I will do absolutely everything to find terrorists where they are."
• Clinton: "I have seen firsthand the terrible damage that can be inflicted by a small band of terrorists."

Sam Clovis: Military holds a special place in fabric of American society

Today, we face a staggering economy. Through the ill-conceived sequestration apparatus in place today, we are taking half of the required spending cuts out of the Department of Defense. There is little we can do about the sequestration structure now, but as a Senator, I would fight to make sure that our military readiness received top priority.

Sam Clovis: Maintain a superior nuclear arsenal

Clovis: Strongly Agree

Sarah Palin: Muslim jihadists threaten our way of life

"We get honest on national security," Palin said. "We give hope to the people that we need not--we will not--succumb to evil, and we call it as it is, we address it. That must be, by the way, that 800-pound elephant in the room of the White House that the radical left won't even name--they won't even name the threat to our way of life today. We'll hit it, we'll name it."

"It is any Muslim who would choose evil, whose loyalty to a death-cult perversion is so darkened and has deceived their soul that they actually think they're welcome here to transform here. No. What we do is strengthen our military, we respect our troops and let them, our troops as our gatekeepers, we let them tell jihadists, 'Uh-uh, this is our house, get the hell out.' "

Terry Branstad: Exempt active-duty military from paying state income tax

House File 652: An act providing an exemption from the computation of the individual state income tax of all pay received for active duty military service and service in Operation New Dawn and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions.

Theresa Greenfield: Take care of veterans with healthcare & jobs

Tom Fiegen: Take care of veterans and their families

Just as planes and tanks and guns are a cost of war, so is taking care of the men and women who we sent off to fight the war. It includes caring for the spouses and children who have to rebuild their lives after the loss of a loved one. It includes caring for the hundreds of thousands of veterans with multiple amputations or loss of eyesight, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. It includes veterans who are having difficulty keeping jobs in order to pay their bills, and it includes the terrible tragedy of veterans committing suicide. Sometimes war is necessary, but it should be the last--not first--option.