Reason magazine: on War & Peace
James Webb:
Opposed Libya war; focus on eastern Asia, not Middle East
In an earlier life, Webb served as Ronald Reagan's secretary of the Navy. That may make you expect him to be a hawk, but when he switched parties and campaigned for the Senate in 2006, he ran as a fierce opponent of the Iraq war. Since then, his record
has been a mixture of hawkish and dovish stances--opposing the Libya war but also reacting skeptically to Obama's Iran deal--with a frequently expressed theme that America's foreign-policy focus should be on eastern Asia, not the Middle East.
"We already have terrain to defend--the United States and our outposts overseas--and we cannot afford to expand this territory in a manner that would simply give the enemy more targets." He wraps up
with this: "If a treaty does not obligate us, if American forces are not under attack or under threat of imminent attack, if no Americans are at risk, the President should come to the congress before he or she sends troops into Harm's Way."
Source: Reason magazine on 2016 presidential hopefuls
Oct 13, 2015
Justin Amash:
Make Congress authorize wars or else withdraw troops
As for wars and having our troops everywhere, those things have to be authorized. I would look at these wars and if I don't think the war has an authorization, I would say to Congress, "Give me an authorization for this conflict within 90 days.
If you don't do that, we're bringing the troops home." And force their hand on it. And then if the American people support engagement in that war, then they can authorize their representatives and senators to vote for that engagement.
Source: Reason magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 1, 2020
Merrick Garland:
Judicial deference to wartime executive power
While Garland is undoubtedly a legal liberal, his record tends to line up in favor of broad judicial deference to law enforcement and wartime executive power. In the area of criminal law, Garland's votes have frequently come down on
the side of prosecutors and police. In 2010, SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein observed that "Judge Garland rarely votes in favor of criminal defendants' appeals of their convictions."
Source: Reason Magazine on 2021 Biden Administration
Sep 5, 2018
Page last updated: Dec 24, 2023