National Public Radio: on Homeland Security
Barack Obama:
Restore habeas corpus to reach Muslims abroad
If you were a Muslim overseas listening to Rudy Giuliani say “they are coming here to try to kill you,” which is the tenor of many of the speeches that are delivered by Republicans, you would get an impression that they are not interested in talking and
resolving issues peacefully. Now, what we need to do [to reach Muslims] is we need to close Guantanamo. We need to restore habeas corpus. We need to send a strong signal that we are going to talk directly to not just our friends but also to our enemies.
Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR
Dec 13, 2007
Howard Dean:
Switch funding from Star Wars to human intelligence
There are two big problems with the defense budget. One is that there are the contracts that get let out [with conflicts of interest], like the Halliburton contract [when Cheney was] getting money from Halliburton in deferred compensation.
That's a violation of the federal ethics code, even though it may theoretically not be against the law. And the other is that the problem with the defense budget is not entirely its size, it's what it's spent on. We should be go back into the ABM Treaty.
We ought to sign the land mines treaty. Instead of building the tactical battlefield nuclear weapons program, which is a weapons program that does nothing to fight against terrorism, we need to invest in special ops and human intelligence.
Instead of investing in Star Wars, which has failed the majority of its tests, that we ought to be doing different kinds of things with that money, such as paying soldiers and making sure there are adequate schools on our military bases.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
Kirsten Gillibrand:
Public service for young people would change country's heart
I believe that if you tell every young person that if you do a year of public service, you could have two years of community college or state school free. If you open up public service to all those industry groups and you incentivize young people to
commit a year or two to that, it's going to not only create pipelines into new jobs and careers that will create economic growth, but it changes the heart of the country and the heart of these kids in a generation.
Source: NPR Morning Edition: Election 2020 Special Series
May 23, 2019
Lloyd Austin:
Democracy demands competent civilian control of military
On confirmation hearing: "I understand and respect the reservations that some of you have expressed about having another recently-retired general at the head of the Department of Defense," Austin said. "The safety and security of our democracy demands
competent civilian control of our armed forces. The subordination of military power to the civil." Austin also sought to allay the fears of some committee members by promising to surround himself with "experienced, capable civilian leaders."
Source: NPR on Defense Secretary Confirmation Hearings
Jan 19, 2021
JD Vance:
Don't fight for abstractions; fight for people's homes
Vance, who served in Iraq with Marine Corps public affairs, took a different lesson from his deployment--that America shouldn't be fighting wars for lofty ideals like promoting democracy abroad."People will not fight for abstractions, but they
will fight for their home. And if this movement of ours is going to succeed, and if this country is going to thrive, our leaders have to remember that
America is a nation, and its citizens deserve leaders who put its interests first," he said, as he accepted the GOP nomination for vice president.
Vance has said in the past that the U.S. lacks the military industrial base to defend Ukraine against
Russia, and that countering the rise of China should be the priority. The Vance nomination swings the Trump ticket toward Republicans who call their approach "realism and restraint."
Source: NPR on 2024 Veepstakes
Jul 29, 2024
Page last updated: Oct 26, 2024