National Public Radio: on War & Peace
Barack Obama:
OpEd: Withdrew from Iraq for political reasons
Mattis recounts a meeting with Biden in the run-up to the U.S. withdrawal. "He wanted our forces out of Iraq," Mattis writes. "Whatever path led there fastest, he favored. He exuded the confidence of a man whose mind was made up, perhaps even
indifferent to considering the consequences were he judging the situation incorrectly." After the U.S. withdrew at the end of 2011, the Islamic State seized a large part of western and northern Iraq. Obama reluctantly sent forces back to Iraq in 2014.
Source: NPR Morning Edition on 2019 Democratic Primary
Sep 2, 2019
Beto O`Rourke:
Deal with conflicts diplomatically or fight wars for years
I'm going to make sure that we end the wars in Afghanistan, and Iraq, and Syria, and Somalia, and Yemen and Libya. We've got to find a way to peacefully, diplomatically convene other players and stakeholders in these regions to resolve otherwise
intractable problems or else let's expect to find ourselves at war 10, 15, 20 years from now. I will not put the life of an American service member on the line unless that is the option of last resort. There are other options available to us.
Source: NPR Morning Edition, "Election 2020: Opening Arguments"
Jun 14, 2019
Donald Trump:
Fact-Check: Trump has sent more troops to MidEast
President Trump said, "As we defend American lives, we are working to end America's wars in the Middle East. In Afghanistan, peace talks are underway.
We are working to finally end America's longest war and bring our troops back home!"Fact -Check: Notwithstanding Trump's desire to shrink American commitments in the
Middle East, he has been sending more troops to the region and keeping in place many of those already posted there. Trump also has sent thousands more troops to the region as a hedge against a potential conflict with Iran following the
U.S. killing of its top general and in the aftermath of re-imposed U.S. sanctions.
Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2020 State of the Union address
Feb 4, 2020
Harry Reid:
OpEd: saying Iraq war was lost emboldened our enemies
Both candidates had to answer for controversial remarks they've made in the past. Angle was asked whether she really thinks jobless Americans have been "spoiled" by unemployment benefits. "No,
I don't think that our unemployed are spoiled," she said, "and that was totally mischaracterized by my opponent," which has become Angle's standard response when questioned about past statements. But Reid, too, is known for making strange remarks.
Angle tried to score by reminding the debate audience that Reid had once said the Iraq war had been lost. "That emboldened our enemies, demoralized our troops and endangered them, and you need to apologize to them, Senator," Angle chided.
Reid countered with the many things he's done for veterans and his endorsement from the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Source: NPR Morning Edition coverage of 2010 Nevada Senate debate
Oct 15, 2010
James Mattis:
U.S. should keep a small force in Iraq
In [Mattis' new book, "Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead,"] Chapter 15, entitled "Snatching Defeat From The Jaws of Victory," Mattis goes on at length about his advice that the
U.S. should have kept at least a small force in Iraq rather than pull out completely in 2011. Mattis was then head of Central Command, overseeing the U.S. war efforts in Iraq.
However, "beginning with President Bush and continuing through the Obama administration, the White House was set on a total troop withdrawal, for political reasons,"
Mattis writes. "I argued strongly that any vacuum left in our wake would be filled by Sunni terrorists and Iran."
Source: NPR Morning Edition on Trump Cabinet
Sep 2, 2019
James Mattis:
U.S. should keep a small force in Syria
He left the Trump administration after the president declared that he wanted to pull U.S. forces out of Syria. Those U.S. troops helped drive the
Islamic State out of the territory it once held, but Mattis and other military leaders have indicated they would like to keep at least a small force in Syria--which remains the case so far.
Source: NPR Morning Edition on Trump Cabinet
Sep 2, 2019
James Mattis:
U.S. should keep a small force in Afghanistan
President Obama said in 2011 that he would draw down troops in Afghanistan (in addition to the complete withdrawal in Iraq). "I had been assigned two contradictory objectives," Mattis writes. "The forces under my command at
CENTCOM were to degrade the Taliban while building up the Afghan army. They were also to withdraw on a strict timetable, independent of circumstances on the ground. We could do one or the other, but not both."
Source: NPR Morning Edition on Trump Cabinet
Sep 2, 2019
Joe Biden:
U.S. forces out of Iraq, by whatever path led there fastest
Mattis recounts a meeting with Biden in the run-up to the U.S. withdrawal. "He wanted our forces out of Iraq," Mattis writes. "Whatever path led there fastest, he favored. He exuded the confidence of a man whose mind was made up, perhaps even
indifferent to considering the consequences were he judging the situation incorrectly." After the U.S. withdrew at the end of 2011, the Islamic State seized a large part of western and northern Iraq. Obama reluctantly sent forces back to Iraq in 2014.
Source: NPR Morning Edition on 2019 Democratic Primary
Sep 2, 2019
Ralph Nader:
Responsible six-month withdrawal from Iraq occupation
We want to have a responsible six-month withdrawal of the US military and corporate occupation, and an internationally supervised election, so that the Iraqi people don't feel that they're facing a permanent military occupation and the control
of their oil resources and of public government. If they feel that, the majority of the Iraqis are going to support the insurgency. They're not going to distance themselves from the insurgency.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate
Jul 9, 2004
Susan Rice:
Small U.S. military presence in Syria fought ISIS threat
The reason why we had a small number - barely over a thousand U.S. troops - in Syria was not to topple the regime. It was not to get involved in the civil conflict. It was to fight a clear and present terrorist threat from ISIS. The reason why they
needed to stay after ISIS had been largely debilitated but not entirely defeated is because we have seen time and again in that region what happens when you take the pressure off the terrorists. They reconstitute and come back.
Source: NPR Illinois on 2020 Maine Senate race
Oct 13, 2019
JD Vance:
I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and he's the first veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan to appear on a presidential ballot. But Vance isn't a hawk; in fact, he now leads a contingent of war veterans in the
Republican Party who oppose U.S. military intervention abroad. "I served my country honorably and I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to," Vance said on the Senate floor in April after the chamber passed $61 billion of new aid for Ukraine.
He essentially accused his colleagues of getting fooled, just like he was when he believed in the Iraq War. "My excuse is that I was a high school senior. What is the excuse of many people who were in this chamber or in the
House of Representatives at the time and are now singing the exact same song when it comes to Ukraine? Have we learned nothing?" he said.
Source: NPR on 2024 Veepstakes
Jul 29, 2024
Page last updated: Oct 26, 2024