State of Missouri Archives: on War & Peace
Austin Petersen:
No foreign actions without Congress's okay
America first! No more nation-building. The United States should seek to protect and defend its security, its allies, and its national interests abroad,
but any military actions taken must come with a proper debate and vote in Congress and comply with the War Powers Act. No president should have the power to unilaterally declare war. That's Congress' job, as per the Constitution.
Source: 2018 Missouri Senatorial website AustinPetersen.com
Oct 1, 2017
Claire McCaskill:
Supported treaty limiting Iran nuclear capability
Q: Support Trump withdrawal from treaty limiting Iran nuclear capability in return for lifting economic sanctions?Josh Hawley (R): Yes.
Claire McCaskill (D): Supported original treaty. "Concerned about what comes next" and effect on the relationship with allies.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Missouri Senate race
Oct 9, 2018
Eric Greitens:
Jewish education inspired him to serve in Bosnia
At B'nai El I was influenced by a number of Holocaust survivors who were brought in to talk with the [religious school] class. In 1994, I was 20 years old, I went to Bosnia and lived in refugee camps and worked there with unaccompanied children.
These were kids who were separated from their parents or whose parents had died during the war. I don't think I would have been inspired to go to Bosnia without the Jewish education that I received and a number of the teachers I had.
Source: St. Louis Jewish Light on 2022 Missouri Senate race
Jun 14, 2016
Jason Kander:
Iraq War was a huge strategic error, and I said so then
Q: In principle, was the Iraq War a good idea?KANDER: No.
Q: Why?
KANDER: At this point, everybody agrees that that was a huge strategic error. If you watch, for instance, what's going on in the Republican debate for the presidency, you see,
overwhelmingly, everyone on both sides of the aisle seems to agree that was a mistake. And that's something I understood that at the time, and Senator Blunt did not.
Q: Should President Obama should have kept troops in Iraq instead of a complete withdrawal?
KANDER: I think that the focus at this point has got to be what we do now. I feel the president could have done a better job explaining what
we need to do now to combat ISIS rather than talk about what we've been doing.
Q: You don't think the president did a good job addressing the nation about ISIS?
KANDER: I thought the president could have done a better job.
Source: The Atlantic magazine on 2016 Missouri Senate race
Dec 27, 2015
Jason Kander:
Engage ISIS, including ground troops as a last resort
Q: Specifically, what should Obama do better to address ISIS?KANDER: We have to be willing to engage ISIS militarily, economically, and even on the Internet without delay. For instance, I think we waited too long to engage al-Qaida and the Taliban in
Pakistan. And we should not make a similar mistake with ISIS elements throughout the world.
Q: You think we should send additional troops in Syria or Iraq?
KANDER: Ground troops have to be a last resort. I think they should always be a last resort.
But as I think we have that conversation going forward, we need to make sure it's not just a conversation of whether we should send people in, but also how those people get out. I think in the past we have not always had that conversation.
But it's clear that as we go forward, if military leaders say that that is the only way we are going to be able to destroy ISIS, then that's what we're going to have to.
Source: The Atlantic magazine on 2016 Missouri Senate race
Dec 27, 2015
Josh Hawley:
Withdraw from Iran nuclear treaty
Q: Support Trump withdrawal from treaty limiting Iran nuclear capability in return for lifting economic sanctions?Josh Hawley (R): Yes.
Claire McCaskill (D): Supported original treaty. "Concerned about what comes next" and effect on the relationship with allies.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Missouri Senate race
Oct 9, 2018
Lester Turilli:
Don't engage in traditional military predicaments overseas
Q: Should we avoid foreign entanglements?A: Foreign entanglements should be avoided. Political & economic agendas along with outdated philosophical theories result in the loss of life while engaging in these overseas predicaments. Traditional military
commitments are not often the best course of action dealing with groups/nations who use unconditional warfare and are not bound by rules of engagement. There are often more productive militaristic strategies, even though they are not politically popular.
Source: Email interview on 2016 Missouri candidacy by OnTheIssues
Apr 25, 2016
Lucas Kunce:
Intervene for self-defense, and then we need to leave
I believe that we should intervene when we have a self-defense moment, and we need to protect ourselves. And we need to accomplish that mission immediately, and then we need to leave. And I don't believe in this, you know,
this doctrine of like "preemptive self-defense" where we invade Iraq because they might have weapons of mass destruction someday.
Source: The American Prospect on 2022 Missouri Senate race
Aug 27, 2021
Robin Carnahan:
No date for Afghan withdrawal, but no open-ended commitment
The two sides agreed on at least one thing: there should not at this time be a firm deadline for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan."The president made a huge mistake when he announced a date for withdrawal,"
Blunt said. "The world is a dangerous place."
Carnahan said that while there shouldn't be a date for withdrawal, there also should not be an open-ended commitment for troops.
Source: Springfield News-Leader on 2010 Missouri Senate debate
Oct 15, 2010
Roy Blunt:
Huge mistake to announce date for Afghan withdrawal
The two sides agreed on at least one thing: there should not at this time be a firm deadline for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan."The president made a huge mistake when he announced a date for withdrawal,"
Blunt said. "The world is a dangerous place."
Carnahan said that while there shouldn't be a date for withdrawal, there also should not be an open-ended commitment for troops.
Source: Springfield News-Leader on 2010 Missouri Senate debate
Oct 15, 2010
Roy Blunt:
Iran deal lets the nuclear genie out of the bottle
Sen. Roy Blunt warned that threats facing the US are "more prevalent, more complex and potentially more catastrophic than ever before." He also said laws intended to fight those threats should eventually expire, particularly the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act and the Patriot Act.Blunt devoted much of his talk to threats posed by Russia, China, Syria and the Islamic State, and he was critical of the response by Pres. Obama's administration. He was especially pessimistic about the
administration's recent negotiations with Iran, and he devoted almost 10 minutes of his approximately hour-long speech to a deal meant to contain Iran's nuclear capabilities in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. "What this agreement really does is
let the nuclear genie out of the bottle," he said.
Speaking about Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Blunt said he could "almost guarantee" that "some, if not all of them, will have nuclear weapons before the Iranians."
Source: Columbia Missourian on 2016 Missouri Senate race
Sep 14, 2015
Lucas Kunce:
Negotiated for fewer arms, less chance of conflict
My work led to a position on the Joint Staff as an International Negotiations Officer. There, I oversaw U.S. military compliance with our international arms control obligations and negotiated arms control agreements and strategy at the National
Security Council, NATO, and non-allied countries like Russia. I spent every day doing what I could to make the world a safer place, with fewer arms, less chance of conflict, and more money to spend on improving lives rather than destroying them.
Source: 2024 Missouri Senate campaign website LucasKunce.com
Apr 6, 2023
Bill Eigel:
I disdain the ruling elite who send us to war
Q: What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?A: As a USAF veteran who was deployed overseas, I know first hand the struggles that our veterans and active military personnel face. I lost friends. I saw the struggle upon returning
home. I disdain the ruling elite who send our men and women to die in their wars, all while doing nothing to ensure their sacrifice is honored. I filed a bill to
- eliminate the
COVID-19 vaccine mandates for the National Guard,
- eliminate the income tax on National Guard signing bonuses, and
- ban all foreign ownership of land within 500 miles of our military bases.
As a small business owner, I believe the way to achieve economic growth is to cut taxes and red tape across the board. Government picking winners and losers is NOT the way to do it.
Source: Ballotpedia Candidate Connection:2024 Missouri Governor race
Aug 8, 2024
Karla May:
United States needs to back allies like Israel
Karla May highlighted the following themes in an interview with St. Louis Public Radio: May said she is supportive of Israel, adding that the United States needs to back its allies -- and be willing to criticize their political leadership when they're
wrong. "So if there's a problem with the way [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is handling the war, we have a right to call them out on that," May said. "But you still don't abandon your allies in the middle of a battle."
Source: Ballotpedia.org on 2024 Missouri Senate race
Jul 15, 2024
Bill Eigel:
Israel is our greatest ally, and we must stand with them
Q: NATIONAL SECURITY: Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?A: Yes, it is very important. Israel is our greatest ally, and we must stand with them. I sponsored SCR 25 this year in the Missouri Senate.
SCR 25 commends Israel for its cordial and mutually beneficial relationship with Missouri and the United States, supports Israel's right to exist, and recognizes Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel.
Source: AFA iVoterGuide on 2024 Missouri Gubernatorial race
Aug 8, 2024
Josh Hawley:
Under many threats from radical Islam & N Korea
"Josh Hawley is a constitutional lawyer who has fought for cases at the Supreme Court and won," said Ambassador John Bolton. "He'll take that same fight to the U.S. Senate, where I know he will vote and advocate for a stronger national security and an
America-first foreign policy." "It is an honor to receive an endorsement from Ambassador Bolton. An expert in foreign policy, he understands the many threats posed to America by radical Islam, North Korea, and Iran.
Source: Globe News Wire on 2018 Missouri Senate race
Dec 12, 2017
Page last updated: Feb 07, 2026