The 25 Islamic religious leaders who signed the letter, which comes a year after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack that sparked the war, argue that Muslim voters have a duty to think logically about their voting decisions and that backing Harris "far outweighs the harms of the other options."
"She is a committed ceasefire candidate too and is the best option for ending the bloodshed in Gaza and now Lebanon," they wrote.
The imams argued that former President Trump is a threat to their community. "Given [Trump's] well-documented history of harming our communities and country," the letter argues that the leaders have "a responsibility, an Amana, not to place our community in harm's way."
The letter criticizes Trump for praising "adversarial dictators" including China's Xi Jinping, North Korea's Kim Jung-un, and Russia's Vladimir Putin, "as well as the terrorist leaders of Hezbollah," while denigrating the U.S.
"The contrast with Mr. Trump is clear: where Vice President Harris is prepared and strategic, he is impulsive and ill-informed. We do not agree on everything, but we all adhere to two fundamental principles," the letter said. "First, we believe America's national security requires a serious and capable Commander-in-Chief. Second, we believe American democracy is invaluable."
"Our endorsement of Harris is an endorsement of freedom and an act of patriotism. It is an endorsement of democratic ideals and of relentless optimism in America's future."
HARRIS: Let's understand how we got here. On Oct. 7, Hamas, a terrorist organization, slaughtered 1,200 Israelis. And so absolutely, I said then, I say now, Israel has a right to defend itself. We would. And how it does so matters. Because it is also true far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. What we know is that this war must end. And the way it will end is we need a cease-fire deal and we need the hostages out. We must chart a course for a two-state solution. And in that solution, there must be security for the Israeli people and Israel and in equal measure for the Palestinians. I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel. But we must have a two-state solution where we can rebuild Gaza, where the Palestinians have security, self-determination and the dignity they so rightly deserve.
DONALD TRUMP: She hates Israel. She wouldn't even meet with Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech. She hates Israel. At the same time in her own way she hates the Arab population because the whole place is going to get blown up, Arabs, Jewish people, Israel. Israel will be gone. It would have never happened--Iran was broke under Donald Trump. Now Iran has $300 billion because they took off all the sanctions that I had. Iran had no money for Hamas or Hezbollah or any of the 28 different spheres of terror. They had no money for terror. They were broke. Now they're a rich nation, spreading that money around, with the Houthis and Yemen.
Sadly, eight decades later, Antisemitism--and hate in general--is on the rise in our country and around the world. On October 7, Hamas, a brutal terrorist organization, committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust--killing 1,200 innocent people, including 44 Americans, taking 240 people hostage, including eight Americans still in Gaza, and committing horrific acts of sexual violence against Jewish women.
And, in recent days in the United States, we have seen hateful rhetoric and harassment against Jews. This is Antisemitism and must be condemned unequivocally. Hate of any kind has no place in our country.
What I have found out from New Hampshire is, we don't talk enough about the northern border. The southern border is in terrible shape, but 500 people on the terrorist watch list, have come through the northern border. You look at the fentanyl and all that. I learned that from [New Hampshire], because you have been affected by it every day.
America refuses to deal with addictions, which we have to deal with. And there are answers to this. Let's release [federal] resources, so that every state can do what they need to, to get the mental health facilities that we need to have in our states, to have the addiction centers.
HALEY: Keep in mind, there would be no Houthis without Iran. There wouldn't be Hamas without Iran. And what truly fueled Iran was when Biden fell all over himself to get back into the Iran deal. When he lifted the sanctions on Iran, it was the most dangerous thing he could have done. When he lifted the terrorist label off the Houthis, that was another thing he never should have done. When Iran and their proxies get cash, it goes to fuel terrorism. And now we have that area of the Red Sea. That's a dramatic part of our global supply chain. And so now that they have started causing trouble there, you know, what we're seeing Biden do is now he's like, "uh-oh, we're going to go put the terrorist designation back on them." And now even if he put the sanctions back on Iran, it's going to take a while to do that.
Nikk Haley: I don't think that you have a straight-up Muslim ban, you look at the countries that have terrorist activity that want to hurt Americans.
Ron DeSantis: It's not just terrorism--look what's happened in Europe. You have more anti-Semitism in Germany than at any time since Adolf Hitler. Why? Because they imported mass numbers of people who reject their culture. Europe is committing suicide with the mass migration and it's illegal and legal. Nikki Haley said the other day there should be no limits on legal immigration. There needs to be limits on immigration and we should not be importing people from cultures that are hostile. So for example, [some suggested] importing 300,000 people from the Gaza Strip. I said, "No, we're not taking anyone from Gaza because of the anti-Semitism and because they reject American culture, so we've got to get smart about this. We cannot let the United States be like Europe."
Donald Trump: No longer will we allow dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs to get residency in our country. We're not going to let them stay here. If you empathize with radical Islamic, terrorists and extremists, you're disqualified. You're just disqualified.
(Trump on video): No longer will we allow dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs to get residency in our country. We're not going to let them stay here. If you empathize with radical Islamic, terrorists and extremists, you're disqualified.
Q: Do you support President Trump's plan for ideological screening?
Nikki Haley: Well, I don't think that you have a straight-up Muslim ban, as much as you look at the countries that have terrorist activity that want to hurt Americans. You can ban those people from those countries, that's the way we should look at it is which countries are a threat to us. What worries me the most are those that came from Iran, from Yemen, from Lebanon, those areas where they say "Death to America." That's where you want to be careful. It's not about a religion, it's about a fact that certain countries are dangerous and are threats to us.
Nikki Haley: We need to be clear-eyed. The last thing we need to do is to tell Israel what to do. The only thing we should be doing is supporting them in eliminating Hamas. It is not that Israel needs America, America needs Israel. They are the tip of the spear when it comes to this Islamic terrorism and we need to make sure that we have their backs in that process.
Gov. Ron DeSantis: I would be telling Bibi, "Finish the job once and for all with these butchers, Hamas, their terrorists, their massacring innocent people." They would wipe every Jew off the globe if they could. He cannot live with that threat right by his country. That Hamas should release every hostage and they should unconditionally surrender. We will stand with Israel in word and in deed in public and in private. As governor, I actually did something about it. Biden's neglect has been atrocious. We had Floridians that were over there after the attack. He left them stranded. They couldn't get flights out. So I sent planes over to Israel and I brought back over 700 people to safety. So there’s a difference between words and deeds; we acted and we save lives.
"The attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel is reprehensible, and the fact it occurred on a Jewish holiday is despicable. We stand with our democratic ally Israel while lifting up in prayer the victims of these horrific attacks," Burgum said. "We also pray for the safe return of the priests and parishioners from North Dakota congregations who are anxiously waiting to board flights home. Today we reached out to the U.S. State Department and spoke with Father Ackerman, offering to assist however possible to help ensure the safe return of those North Dakotans and all Americans wanting to return to U.S. soil."
HALEY: Special operations is how we deal with our terrorists. Mexico's not being a good partner if they're letting the cartels get away with what they're getting away with. We will send in our special operations and we will take out the cartels; we'll take out their operations; we'll take out anything that's doing it.
But we're going to go after China because China is the one sending the Fentanyl in the first place. And we will end all normal trade relations until China stops sending Fentanyl. And then we'll do the special operations and we'll get it from both sides. This is where President Trump went wrong. He focused on trade with China. We need to start focusing on what keeps Americans safe. As your president, I will make sure every American is safe, and we'll do whatever it takes to make that happen.
PROMISE KEPT: (Reuters, April 14, 2021): Biden plans to announce at the White House that all U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn no later than Sept. 11, senior U.S. officials said. The Democratic president had faced a May 1 withdrawal deadline, set by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, who tried but failed to pull the troops out before he left office. Biden's decision will keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan pas
BIDEN: Yes, I would. It's now public knowledge: I was opposed to the significant increase in our presence, at the time [of Obama's "surge"], in Afghanistan, and because I thought the only presence we should have is a counterterrorism presence, not a counterinsurgency presence. The idea that we're ever going to break up the counterinsurgency network in Western Pakistan is just not going to happen. But we have to be in a position where we can make it clear that if need be, we could respond to terrorist activities coming out of that region, directed toward the United States. It does not require a large force presence. We got that presence down to lower than it is now. This President is the one that has increased the number, not reduced the number.
PENCE: The agreement represents a historic step forward on the path to peace. I wouldn't gainsay what the Taliban has literally put in writing. It is the first time ever that they have been willing to commit publicly to oppose the presence of al Qaeda in their region. They have made a commitment to oppose the presence of terrorist elements and organizations using Afghanistan to launch attacks. Now the hard work begins.
SANDERS: After spending trillions of dollars on these endless wars, which have resulted in dislocation and mass migrations and pain in that region, it is time to bring our troops home. Unlike Trump, I will not do it through a tweet at 3 o'clock in the morning. I will do it working with the international community. If it's necessary to negotiate with the Taliban, we will do that.
Q: What about other military spending?
SANDERS: One of the big differences between the vice president and myself is he supported the terrible war in Iraq and I helped lead the opposition against it. And not only that, I voted against the very first Gulf War, as well I think we need a foreign policy which understands who our enemies are, that we don't have to spend more money on the military than the next 10 nations combined.
V.P. Joe BIDEN: I was responsible for getting 150,000 combat troops out of Iraq, and my son was one of them. I also think we should not have combat troops in Afghanistan. It's long overdue. It should end. We cannot go it alone in terms of dealing with terrorism. I would eliminate the act that allowed us to go into war. That's why we have to repair our alliances. We put together 65 countries to make sure we dealt with ISIS in Iraq and other places. That's what I would do. That's what I have done.
Sen. Bernie SANDERS: Joe voted for that war;I helped lead the oppositio
For example, climate change will lead to droughts. Droughts will lead to famine. Famine will drive desperate people to leave their homes in search of sustenance. Massive flows of displaced people will lead to refugee crises. Refugee crisis will lead to tension and instability across borders.
The hard truth is that climate change is going to cause terrible instability and desperation, and that will put American national security at risk. That's why as part of President Obama's national security strategy, climate change was identified as a national security threat of the highest priority.
In the past, we have foolishly released hundreds of dangerous terrorists, only to meet them again on the battlefield--including the ISIS leader, al-Baghdadi.
So today, I am keeping another promise. I just signed an order to reexamine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay.
I am also asking the Congress to ensure that, in the fight against ISIS and al-Qa'ida, we continue to have all necessary power to detain terrorists--wherever we chase them down.
For this reason, I am asking the Congress to end the dangerous defense sequester and fully fund our great military.
As part of our defense, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression. Perhaps someday in the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, we are not there yet.
In addition to draining our resources and distorting our vision, the war on terror has caused us to undermine our own moral standards regarding torture, indefinite detention, and the use of force around the world, using drone strikes and other airstrikes that often result in high civilian casualties.
A heavy-handed military approach, with little transparency or accountability, doesn't enhance our security. It makes the problem worse.
"In short, when it comes to the war against terrorists, I'm a hawk," she told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald last year. "When it comes to counterproductive wars of regime change, I'm a dove." Gabbard lambasted the Obama administration for avoiding the phrase. In one interview, she told the host that "the vast majority of terrorist attacks conducted around the world for over the last decade have been conducted by groups who are fueled by this radical Islamic ideology."
Gabbard complained that by "not using this term 'Islamic extremism' and clearly identifying our enemies," the administration couldn't "come up with a very effective strategy to defeat that enemy."
We must also remain vigilant to protect our nation from terrorists and those who wish to do us harm. Cyber security is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation. An effective response to cyber-attacks will require coordination among intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and private owners of critical cyber infrastructure. However, it is also imperative that we not sacrifice citizens' privacy and civil liberties. I will continue to fight for measures that allow us to find the proper balance between national security and personal privacy.
That was then. After 82 days in office, Trump officially pronounced NATO rehabilitated, taking credit for transforming it into a modern, cost-sharing, terrorism-fighting pillar of American and European security. "I said it was obsolete," the president noted as he hosted NATO's secretary general. "It's no longer obsolete."
Never mind that the alliance has changed very little if at all in the last three months, and that whatever modest changes have been made were in train long before Trump entered the White House. After weeks of being lobbied, cajoled and educated by the leaders of Britain and Germany, not to mention "my generals," as he likes to call his national security team, Trump has found fresh virtue in a venerable organization.
HALEY: I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. I believe that the fabric of America is legal immigration. This is not about not wanting people in. This is about keeping the terrorists out. We should never ban based on religion, I mean, period. We should never. And I don't think that's what this is. We will never close our doors in the United States. We won't. But what we did do was take a pause.
"The Trump administration has conceded that its original Muslim ban was indefensible. Unfortunately, it has replaced it with a scaled-back version that shares the same fatal flaws. The only way to actually fix the Muslim ban is not to have a Muslim ban. Instead, Pres. Trump has recommitted himself to religious discrimination. The changes the Trump administration has made completely undermine the bogus national security justifications the president has tried to hide behind.
The vast majority of individuals convicted for terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came here from outside of our country. We have seen the attacks at home. We have seen the attacks in France, in Belgium, in Germany and all over the world.
It is not compassionate, but reckless, to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur. Those given the high honor of admission to the United States should support this country and love its people and its values.
We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America--we cannot allow our Nation to become a sanctuary for extremists. That is why my Administration has been working on improved vetting procedures, and we will shortly take new steps to keep our Nation safe--and to keep out those who would do us harm.
PENCE: It is not time to start over at all. During the course of the campaign and since the outset of this administration, President Trump has made it clear he is going to use his authority as president under the law to put the safety and security of the American people first, especially when it comes to protecting this country from the threat that radical Islamic terrorism poses. The executive order is on a solid constitutional and statutory foundation. One court in Boston confirmed that. Another court in Washington came to a different decision. But we are very confident that, as we move through the process of these appeals, that the president's authority in this area will be upheld. In this case, the president used a list the Obama administration and the Congress identified of seven countries compromised by terrorism. It is within his authority to do it.
PENCE: Pres. Trump has made it clear he's going to put the safety and security of the American people first. And using a list of countries that the Obama administration and the Congress have certified were compromised by terrorist influence, seven different countries, is consistent with the President's commitment to do just that.
Q: But on this travel ban, no Egypt, no Saudi Arabia. No Pakistan, no Afghanistan. Why weren't those countries included? Because you wanted that Obama talking point.
PENCE: Well, no. It was done because both the Congress and the prior administration identified seven countries, one in Syria, torn asunder by civil war, and the other six--these are countries that do not have the internal systems in place so that we can be confident today that, when people present themselves for access to the United States, that they are who they say they are.
At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us, "how good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity." We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.
We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action--constantly complaining but never doing anything about it. The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action.
"I took such heat when I said NATO was obsolete," Mr. Trump said. "It's obsolete because it wasn't taking care of terror. I took a lot of heat for two days. And then they started saying, 'Trump is right.'"
During his hourlong interview with the European publications at Trump Tower in Manhattan, Trump sought to temper some of his criticism of NATO by noting that the alliance "is very important to me." Still, his characterization of it as divorced from the fight against terrorism was challenged by NATO experts, who noted that the alliance had joined the US in Afghanistan.
PENCE: The administration is complying with that order, and we'll go through the process in the courts to implement this action that is entirely focused on the safety and security of the American people. The Obama administration identified these seven countries repeatedly as compromised by terrorism. And so by putting a pause in for all these countries, we can assure that anyone that's coming here doesn't represent a threat to our families and our communities.
Q: There's been a chorus of criticism of this ban. Could it have been done better?
PENCE: I think the early days of this administration are going to be described in the history books as days of action. The American people welcome the decisiveness that President Trump has shown on this issue, putting the safety and secretary of the American people above the niceties of communicating with people in Washington.
A: You're right about Islamophobia, and that's a shame. Whether we like it or not, and we could be very politically correct, there is a problem. And we have to be sure that Muslims come in and report when they see something going on. When they see hatred going on, they have to report it.
A: Trump has called for extreme vetting for people coming into this country so that we don't bring people into the United States who are hostile to the American way life. Donald Trump and I are committed to suspending the Syrian refugee program and programs and immigration from areas of the world that have been compromised by terrorism.
KAINE: Let me tell you what will really make the Middle East dangerous. Donald Trump's idea that more nations should get nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea. Ronald Reagan said something about nuclear proliferation in the 1980s. He said the problem is that some fool or maniac could trigger a catastrophic event. I think that's who Governor Pence's running mate is, exactly who Governor Reagan warned us about.
DR. JILL STEIN: Yes, nuclear material in the hands of terrorists is a very dangerous thing. This is yet another reason why nuclear power and nuclear power plants and their proliferation around the world is an intolerable threat, not only because of the nuclear weapons that can be made from their materials once they have been used, but also because of the inherent dangers of nuclear power, particularly in the era of climate change. In our country, we have something like 16 nuclear power plants which are located at sea level. Right now, we could see as much as nine feet of sea level rise as soon as 2050, which means that our 16 or so nuclear power plants are all going Fukushima.
TRUMP: First of all, I agree, and a lot of people even within my own party want to give certain rights to people on watch lists and no-fly lists. I agree with you. When a person is on a watch list or a no-fly list, and I have the endorsement of the NRA, which I'm very proud of--but I think we have to look very strongly at no-fly lists and watch lists. And when people are on there, if they shouldn't be on there, we'll help them legally, we'll help them get off. But I tend to agree with that quite strongly.
After recounting the toll in money and human life the US' counterterror efforts, Stein said: "What do we have to show for this? Failed states, mass refugee migrations and repeated terrorist threats."
Stein called for a full rethinking of the War on Terror: "We are calling for a new kind of offensive, a peace offensive in the Middle East," Stein said. The "peace offensive" would include an embargo on weapons sales and a freeze on funding to states that support "jihadi terrorist enterprises," she said, pointing to Saudi Arabia in particular. She called for a massive cut in military spending, including the closure of many bases, a shutdown of the F-35 program and not moving forward with the modernization of the US nuclear weapons program.
"This is a military enemy," he said of the Islamic State. "What happened in Orlando, what just happened in Nice--these are terrorist attacks that are inspired by a military organization. We have to recognize that we are in a struggle."
In his first major interview since Trump's announcement on who would get the No. 2 slot, Pence said that "we have to recognize and speak plainly about the impact and the influence of radical Islam. But let's focus on the enemy. The enemy is ISIS. We know where they are. It's a metastasized version of Islam that is radical Islam that's being used as a justification for simply a power grab in the region," the governor said. "That's what this caliphate is."
TRUMP: I mean a lot of them.
Q: Do you want to clarify the comment?
TRUMP: I've been watching the [other candidates in the] debate today. And they're talking about radical Islamic terrorism. But I will tell you this. There's tremendous hatred. And I will stick with exactly what I said.
Sen. Marco RUBIO: I know that a lot of people find appeal in the things Donald says because he says what people wish they could say. The problem is, presidents can't just say anything they want. It has consequences, here and around the world.
TRUMP: Marco talks about consequences. Well, we've had a lot of consequences, including airplanes flying into the World Trade Center. I don't want to be so politically correct. I like to solve problems. We have a serious, serious problem of hate. There is tremendous hate. Where large portions of a group of people, Islam, large portions want to use very, very harsh means.
It's not only the Saudis, though. Stein argued that US involvement in sectarian conflicts in the Middle East, like the ongoing Syrian civil war, only exacerbate tensions in an already volatile region. "We're funding the 'good-guy terrorists' now, they might become 'bad-guy terrorists' later." Stein went on to draw a more complex picture of forces on the ground in the conflict: "They're hybrids of freedom fighters, resistance fighters. Then there are the religious extremists and the warlords. It's complicated."
One thing's for sure, said Stein: constant US meddling in the region is "putting a flamethrower to Middle East."
TRUMP: A deal is a deal. Let me tell you that. I learned a long time ago.
RUBIO: A deal is not a deal when you're dealing with terrorists. Have you ever negotiated with terrorists?
TRUMP: I'm a negotiator. I've done very well over the years through negotiation. It's very important that we do that. In all fairness, Marco is not a negotiator. I watched him melt down and I'll tell you, it was one of the saddest things I've ever seen. You will never bring peace.
CRUZ: Apple should be forced to comply with the court order because a search and seizure is reasonable if it has judicial authorization and probable cause.
RUBIO: The only thing they're being asked to do, is allow us to disable the self- destruct mode that's in the Apple phone so that we can try to guess using our own systems what the password of this killer was. Apple doesn't want to do it because they think it hurts their brand. Well, let me tell you, their brand is not superior to the national security of the United States of America.
KASICH: The president should have convened a meeting with Apple and our security forces. You lock the door and you say you're not coming out until you reach an agreement that both gives the security people what they need and protects the rights of Americans.
TRUMP: I was in favor of Libya? I never discussed that subject. We would be so much better off if Gadhafi were in charge right now. If these politicians went to the beach and didn't do a thing, and we had Saddam Hussein and if we had Gadhafi in charge, instead of having terrorism all over the place, at least they killed terrorists, all right? And I'm not saying they were good--because they were bad, they were really bad--but we don't know what we're getting. You look at Libya right now, ISIS, as we speak, is taking over their oil. As we speak, it's a total mess. We would have been better off if the politicians took a day off instead of going into war.
SANDERS: I recall when Secretary Clinton ran against then-Senator Obama, she was critical of him for suggesting that maybe you want to talk to Iran, that you want to talk to our enemies. Iran is sponsoring terrorism in many parts of the world, destabilizing areas. Everybody knows that. But our goal is to try to deal with our enemies, not just ignore that reality.
CLINTON: I do reserve it for particularly heinous crimes, like terrorism. I thought it was appropriate after a very thorough trial that Timothy McVeigh received the death penalty for blowing up the Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
SANDERS: It's hard to imagine how people can bomb and kill 168 people in Oklahoma City, but this is what I believe: #1, too many innocent people, including minorities, African Americans, have been executed when they were not guilty. We have to be very careful about making sure about that. But #2, of course there are barbaric acts out there. But, in a world of so much violence and killing, I just don't believe that government itself should be part of the killing. So, when somebody commits any of these terrible crimes that we have seen, you lock them up, and you toss away the key. They're never going to get out. But, I just don't want to see government be part of killing.
CLINTON: Absolutely. We have to figure out how to deal with Iran as the principal state sponsor of terrorism in the world. They are destabilizing governments in the region. They continue to support Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon against Israel. If we were to normalize relations right now, we would remove one of the biggest pieces of leverage we have to try to influence and change Iranian behaviour. The president doesn't think we should. I certainly don't think we should. I believe we have to take this step by step to try to reign in Iranian aggression.
SANDERS: I never said that. I think we should move forward as quickly as we can. They are a sponsor of terrorism around the world and we have to address that. A number of years ago, people were saying, "normal relationship with Cuba, what a bad and silly idea." Well, change has come.
SANDERS: I think President Obama had the right idea, and the bottom line is that of course there have to be conditions. But, of course it doesn't do us any good to not talk with our adversaries..
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.
Last year Congress enshrined a torture ban into federal law: In June, the Senate voted 78-21 to approve an amendment, sponsored by Sens. John McCain and Dianne Feinstein, that became law. Rubio missed the vote but opposed the measure, saying he didn't want to deny future presidents "important tools for protecting the American people." He also complained about "telegraphing to the enemy what interrogation techniques we will or won't use."
The McCain-Feinstein amendment requires that all interrogation comply with the Army Field Manual, a publicly available document that forbids waterboarding as well as the use of electric shocks, dogs, nudity, hypothermia and mock executions. All were elements of the CIA's interrogation program in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
SANDERS: I think what we've got to do is move as aggressively as we can to normalize relations with Iran. Understanding that Iran's behavior in so many ways is something that we disagree with: their support of terrorism; the anti-American rhetoric that we're hearing from of their leadership is something that is not acceptable. On the other hand, the fact that we've managed to reach an agreement, that prevents Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and we did that without going to war. So if your question is, do I want to see that relationship become more positive in the future? Yes. Can I tell that we should open an embassy in Tehran tomorrow? No, I don't think we should. But I think the goal has got to be to warm relations with a very powerful and important country.
No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.
At the same time, that does not mean we just flat out open our borders. We can't do that. We cannot continue to allow immigrants to come here illegally. And in this age of terrorism, we must not let in refugees whose intentions cannot be determined.
CRUZ: It did two things: #1, it ended the federal government's bulk collection of phone metadata of millions of law-abiding citizens.#2, it strengthened the tools go after terrorists. The prior program only covered a relatively narrow slice of phone calls, primarily land lines. The USA Freedom Act expands that so now we have cell phones, now we have Internet phones.
Q [to Sen. Rubio]: You voted against it. Is Senator Cruz wrong?
RUBIO: He is. Here's the world we live in. This is a radical jihadist group that is increasingly sophisticated in its abilities. We are now at a time when we need more tools, not less tools. And that tool we lost, the metadata program, was a valuable tool that we no longer have at our disposal. This tool allowed the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies to quickly and rapidly access phone records and match them up with other phone records to see who terrorists have been calling.
TRUMP: ISIS is recruiting through the Internet. ISIS is using the Internet better than we are using the Internet, and it was our idea. I want to get our brilliant people from Silicon Valley and other places and figure out a way that ISIS cannot do what they're doing. You talk freedom of speech. I don't want them using our Internet to take our young, impressionable youth. We should be using our most brilliant minds to figure a way that ISIS cannot use the Internet. And then we should be able to penetrate the Internet and find out exactly where ISIS is and everything about ISIS. And we can do that if we use our good people.
Q: So, are you open to closing parts of the Internet?
TRUMP: I would certainly be open to closing areas where we are at war with somebody. I don't want to let people that want to kill us \use our Internet.
HUCKABEE: No. I'm not taking it away, I just want to make sure that everything we use is going to be effective. We're spending billions of dollars, let's make sure it's effective. Let's use every tool, but let's also check out the Facebook posts, let's look at Twitter accounts. My gosh, we were told we couldn't do it because it might invade somebody's privacy. This lady who came over here and shot up San Bernardino was posting things on Facebook, yet, we were restricted from looking. This is what I think a lot of Americans are frustrated with, it's the duplicity of our policy that is illogical and irrational. Our goal ought to be, "protect Americans and put Americans first not last."
HUCKABEE: If their intent is to kill us, [then] our intent to use every means possible to get to them before they get to us. The rules of engagement have got to be loosened, because we have to make sure that we are not just going over and setting off some fireworks. We have to kill every one of them, to make it very clear that [if you] threaten action against the United States, and you've just signed your death warrant. We're coming to get you. And you won't be coming to our shores. You're going to be going to your funeral.
CRUZ: ISIS is gaining strength because the perception is that they're winning. And President Obama fuels that perception. That will change when militants across the globe see that when you join ISIS that you are giving up your life, you are signing your death warrant, and we need a president who is focused on defeating every single ISIS terrorist and protecting the homeland, which should be the first priority.
HUCKABEE: We don't know fully what the facts are. But regardless of why he did it, what he did is absolutely abominable, especially to those of us in the pro-life movement, because none of us would condone something like this.There is no legitimizing. There is no rationalizing. It was mass murder. So, I think that's a little bit disingenuous on the part of Planned Parenthood to blame people who have a strong philosophical disagreement with the dismembering of human babies to say that we would like to retaliate by sending some madman into a clinic to kill people.
CHRISTIE: I think these are state-by-state determinations.
SANDERS: Well, that's what the CIA and the Department of Defense tell us. If we are going to see an increase in drought and flooding and extreme weather as a result of climate change, what that means is that peoples all over the world are going to be fighting over limited natural resources. When you have drought, when people can't grow their crops, they're going to migrate into cities. And when people migrate into cities, and they don't have jobs, there's going to be a lot more instability, a lot more unemployment. And people will be subject to the types of propaganda that al Qaeda and ISIS are using right now. I think, when we talk about all of the possible ravages of climate change, which, to my mind, is just a huge planetary crisis, increased international conflict is one of the issues that we have got to appreciate will happen.
RUBIO: This is clearly an act of war on one of our NATO allies and we should invoke Article 5 of the NATO agreement and bring everyone together to put together a coalition to confront this challenge.
Q: The question is how--Senator Lindsey Graham, says put 10,000 troops on the ground.
RUBIO: I think it's premature to say the exact numbers. I think that we need to begin to work more closely with the Sunni tribes in Iraq who do not want to work under the thumb of the central government in Iraq as well as the Kurds. The only way to ultimately defeat ISIS is for them to be defeated ideologically and militarily, by Sunnis themselves. But we are going to have to increase special operations attacks, targeting ISIS leadership and revealing that they are not invincible.
RUBIO: I don't think any nation on Earth takes more pains in avoiding civilian casualties than the United States. The reality, unfortunately, is that many of these terrorist groups deliberately operate from the center of civilian areas, because they want there to be civilian casualties for propaganda use. We've seen that as well used by the enemies of Israel on repeated occasions. Obviously, we're going to take great pains to avoid civilian casualties, but at the end of the day, no one has killed more civilians and more innocents here than ISIS has. And although we'll take extraordinary steps to avoid civilian casualties, there is, of course, no guarantee, especially, given the fact, that you're operating against these individuals, who have no regard for human life.
SANDERS: Absolutely. In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism. And if we do not get our act together and listen to what the scientists say, you're going to see countries all over the world--this is what the CIA says--they're going to be struggling over limited amounts of water, limited amounts of land to grow their crops ask you're going to see all kinds of international conflict.
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.
"We made a mistake going into Iraq. I've never said we made a mistake going into Afghanistan," Trump told CNN. Trump said on October 6 that he believed entering Afghanistan was a mistake and worried about U.S. forces getting stuck there.
"At some point, are they going to be there for the next 200 years? It's going to be a long time," Trump said, when asked about Afghanistan. "We made a terrible mistake getting involved there in the first place. We had real brilliant thinkers that didn't know what the hell they were doing. And it's a mess. And at this point, you probably have to stay because that thing will collapse about two seconds after they leave."
Trump first signaled his backtrack when he said Afghanistan is "where we should have gone," meaning the US should have focused its attention on Afghanistan over Iraq.
SANDERS: All of that and more.
Q: You're okay with the drone?
SANDERS: A drone is a weapon. When it works badly, it is terrible and it is counterproductive.
Q: But you're comfortable with the idea of using drones if you think you've isolated an important terrorist? That continues?
SANDERS: Yes. And look, we all know, that there are people as of this moment plotting against the United States. We have got to be vigorous in protecting our country, no question about it.
RUBIO: But radical terrorism cannot be solved by intellect. It cannot--they require--what they need, is they need an operating space. That's what Afghanistan was for Al Qaida. It was a vacuum that they filled, and they created an operating space. That's why they had to be drawn out of there. That's why they had to be destroyed. It is the reason why ISIS has grown as well. We allowed a vacuum to emerge in Syria. They used it as an operating space to grow; and today they're not just in Iraq and Syria anymore, they're now in Libya, conducting operations in the Sinai. They're now in Afghanistan, trying to supplant the Taliban as the most powerful radical jihadist group on the ground there, as well. You cannot allow radical jihadists to have an operating safe haven anywhere in the world.
"Many of our states have divestment policies as well as restrictions against state contractors doing business with the government of Iran. We intend to ensure that the various state-level sanctions that are now in effect remain in effect."
"Many of our states have divestment policies as well as restrictions against state contractors doing business with the government of Iran. We intend to ensure that the various state-level sanctions that are now in effect remain in effect."
And we've seen no less an authority than The Wall Street Journal say that, "Anyone still thinking the U.S. has lost its manufacturing chops hasn't been to South Carolina."
South Carolina is truly becoming the "It" state when it comes to economic development and job creation--not just in the United States, but worldwide.
In 2009 Bernie voted against the proposals the Obama administration suggested for closing the prison. The bill was defeated with strong bipartisan support (90-6). Given Bernie's human rights concerns regarding the facility, he likely voted against it because the plans did not address the human rights violations--including being held indefinitely without trial--that he and so many other Americans are most concerned about with regards to Guantanamo.
A: I have been going to Israel for 42 years. My first trip was in 1973. I have been dozens and dozens of times. I have got a lot of friends there. I will be visiting with a number of officials and discussing the Iranian deal, because I think it's the most dangerous situation that we face, not just for the Middle East, but for the rest of the world. This is essentially arming and equipping a terrorist state. The Iranian government is not to be trusted. And for 36 years, they kidnapped Americans. They have killed Americans. They hold Americans hostage right now. And we're being pushed to get into a deal that gives us nothing, but gives the Iranians the capacity to ultimately end up with a nuclear weapon, and that's just insane.
I was appointed United States attorney on September 10, 2001. And I spent the next seven years of my career fighting terrorism and putting terrorists in jail.
CHRISTIE: Yes, I do. And I'll tell you why: because I'm the only person on this stage who's actually filed applications under the Patriot Act, who has gone before the Foreign Intelligence Service court. This is not theoretical to me. When you actually have to be responsible for doing this, you can do it, and we did it, for seven years in my office, respecting civil liberties and protecting the homeland. And I will make no apologies, ever, for protecting the lives and the safety of the American people. We have to give more tools to our folks to be able to do that, not fewer, and then trust those people and oversee them to do it the right way. As president, that is exactly what I'll do.
A: Let's talk the facts of the deal. We shouldn't be getting the hyperbole. The fact that we have to wait 24 days to inspect a site if the Iranians object is outrageous. That would be like me getting a search warrant, coming to somebody's house who I think is committing a crime and saying, here, I have got a search warrant, I will be back in 24 days to search.
Q: Well, if it was a radioactive crime, the inspectors say that they would be able to discern whether or not there was radioactive material there 24 days later.
A: The president promised any time anywhere. And you cannot tell me that, in 24 days, the Iranians cannot move the elements of cheating from one area to another.
A: Our foreign policy as a nation is not subject to what China wants to do or Russia wants to do; we have our own foreign policy. It needs to be in the national security interests of the United States. I would have never entered this negotiation unless we understood up front that Iran was going to stop enrichment activities, was going to stop their ballistic missile capabilities, & was going to stop sponsoring terrorism.
Stein: Hero ; he has done the American people an incredible service by exposing the violations of the Constitution that have been perpetrated on us--which was taken very seriously around the world, where he has been vindicated. The kind of spying going on has not been protecting us--not one instance of a terrorist plot was found by these abuses--none, by mass spying. They initially claimed dozens of cases but it was found tat there were no none, in a Congressional investigation. Snowden should be treated as a hero---efforts to harass him and prosecute him should be declared over and done with. Charges should not be brought against him, and he should return with hero status--he could improve our national security if he were working for us
CHRISTIE: I've had to review applications under the PATRIOT Act. I know what it's like to interact with the FISA court. We can do this and protect civil liberties. And, of course, we want to track terrorists' phone numbers. We're not listening to anybody's conversations. We're not looking at their emails without the type of search warrants that the court is talking about. What we're saying, though, is, if you're a known terrorist outside this country, and you're calling numbers inside this country, we'd like to know who those people are.
Q: What do you say to those that feel that their government may have them under attack?
CHRISTIE: We should engage in vigorous congressional oversight over our intelligence community, and our Justice Department should prosecute any intelligence officer who violates the law. We have those safeguards available to us.
SANDERS: I may well be voting for it. It doesn't go as far as I would like it to go. I voted against the original Patriot Act, and I voted against its reauthorization. Look, we have got to be vigorous in fighting terrorism and protecting the American people. But we have to do it in a way that protects the constitutional rights of the American people. And I'm very, very worried about the invasion of privacy rights that we're seeing not only from the NSA and the government but from corporate America, as well. We're losing our privacy rights. It's a huge issue.
Q: The government is going to be asking corporate America to keep this data under the USA Freedom Act. You're comfortable with that?
SANDERS: No, I'm not. But we have to look at the best of bad situations. The question is whether the NSA keeps it, the question is whether it is transferred to the phone companies, who already keep records for an extended period of time.
A supporter of calling a vote, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), said it accommodated privacy concerns by restricting the set of records related to terrorism investigations that the government can request from telecommunications companies, while still giving the government the powers it needed to stop terrorism.
A bill opponent, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said the bill failed to require companies to maintain telecommunications records for long enough to make investigations effective. The vote was 57 yeas to 42 nays, with 3/5 majority required to call a vote.
YEAS: Scott R-SC
NAYS: Graham R-SC
A: The Constitution already provides what we should do. If you have probable cause, you go to a judge, you get a warrant, and then you listen in on his calls, now you've got the other branch of government that's constitutionally required to be a part of that process. You don't just give the executive branch unlimited power.
Q: Do you support NSA bulk collection of metadata?
Q: 225 different terrorist plots over the past years since 9/11 and so far, not one of them has been tied directly to the NSA's collection of metadata. So, if this is so effective, how come it hasn't resulted in the foiled terrorist plots? Those have been foiled by old fashion good police work, old-fashioned human intelligence. It seems like we're spending billions of dollars on whiz-bang technology and not enough money on human resources, which really is proven to be the most effective way of stopping terrorism.
Foreign policy has become an unusually prominent issue heading into the 2016 election cycle. President Obama has made a strong effort to avoid labeling the terrorism carried out in the name of religion "radical Islam." When asked for her take on that, Harris echoed President Obama saying "there are extremists who are using religion as a cloak to commit terror and terrorist acts. And I think it would be a mistake for any of us to mistake the religion for the terrorists. They can be distinguished. And they should be in our language as well as our policy approach."
She prefaced her remarks by pointing out the need to talk about Israel "because it is our strongest ally in the Middle East. And so we have to take that seriously and be guided by that reality, as it relates to issues that impact the Middle East."
Huckabee was specifically dismissive of economic inequality as a political issue, telling the crowd that "liberals" would press it in the coming presidential campaign but that "intelligence inequality" was a bigger problem.
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.
Tonight, Hoosiers will be proud to know that on the front lines of that war are some 300 airmen with our 122nd Fighter Wing out of Fort Wayne--the largest deployment of the Indiana Air National Guard in the past ten years. To them and their families, some of whom are with us tonight, we thank you for your service. You are in our prayers. Please join with me in showing our gratitude to all those who serve at home and abroad in these uncertain times.
Like Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio weighed in with one of the strongest responses, in a joint statement with Idaho's Sen. Jim Risch, calling the release of the report "reckless and irresponsible" and demanding a more current detention and interrogation policy: "As a nation at war, we need a coherent detention and interrogation policy in order to extract valuable intelligence about terrorist networks from captured operatives. The Obama Administration has no detention policy, and it has hindered U.S. efforts to fight terrorism globally," they said. Rubio later told reporters he didn't support brutal interrogation methods, however.
A high-stakes vote over the future of the NSA further tested Republicans' relationships in the Valley. Paul and others had supported a major overhaul of the agency's authorities to collect Americans' communications in bulk--but the senator shocked tech giants and civil-liberties groups when he pulled support at the last minute, as the USA Freedom Act reached the Senate floor for a key procedural vote. Rubio long had stated his opposition, citing emerging terrorist threats and the need for more intelligence.
Paul defended his vote on surveillance reform, stressing in an interview he "couldn't vote for it because it reauthorized the PATRIOT Act"--a law he described as "heinous."
RUBIO: I want to hear what he should have said months ago: clearly explain to the American people what our national security interests are in the region, especially in what is happening in Syria and Iraq; accurately describe to the American people the risk that ISIL poses for us short-term and long-term and why they matter. This is a group that has made very clear they want to establish an Islamic caliphate in the Middle East and the only way they're going to be able to do that is to drive us from the region. Second, he needs to clearly outline what we're going to do about it, and I hope that will include a sustained air campaign.
RUBIO: Without a doubt. I think this is an urgent counterterrorism matter. I know a lot has been talked about the future of Iraq as a country, and that is a very legitimate issue that needs to be looked at. But, for me, this is not about nation-building or imposing democracy. This is a counterterrorism risk that we need to nip in the bud. It is my view that we will either deal with ISIS now or we will deal with them later. And, later, they're going to be stronger and harder to reach.
Q: Given that this is a direct throat to U.S. national security, what should this administration be doing?
RUBIO: I certainly hope that the 300 additional special forces and trainers going in is not simply a symbolic measure. I hope it's the first step in a multistep process.
BERNIE SANDERS: I suspect that if you ask Bergdahl's feelings about what happened, they will feel very, very good. I think we need to have more information about the long-term consequences, and do everything that we can to make sure that these terrorists do not get back onto the battlefield.
But yesterday , speaking at the Aspen Institute, NJ Governor Chris Christie denounced the effort to pull back on anti-terror measures as "dangerous" and warned that those--like Paul--who are attempting to craft an American retreat from the world are playing with fire. In speaking in this manner, Christie put himself on record as endorsing the policies of President George W. Bush that have been largely continued by President Obama as necessary, and served notice that Paul will be strongly opposed by Republicans who don't want their party to be hijacked by isolationists. In doing so, Christie not only indicated that he is prepared to run in part on foreign policy issues but may embolden other possible candidates with similar views to his on this question.
But as Christie pointed out, anyone who wants to cut back on the Bush/Obama anti-terror measures should come to New York or New Jersey and meet the families of 9/11 victims. Programs such as the NSA metadata mining have helped stop numerous attempts to repeat that atrocity.
We support the political process that France is leading to restore a democratic government in Mali. We discussed the importance of working with our regional partners to counter terrorism across North Africa and beyond. We spent time discussing how terrorist organizations metastasized and why additional strategies will be necessary going into the future to deal with this new threat.
I emphasized the importance of working with the new government of Libya and building effective security institutions. On Syria, we both fully support the Syrian opposition coalition, the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
He is currently an officer in the reserve component of the United States Navy. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He has lectured on the law of war at Florida Coastal School of Law.
RYAN: It took the president two weeks to acknowledge that this was a terrorist attack. Our ambassador in Paris has a Marine detachment guarding him. Shouldn't we have a Marine detachment guarding our ambassador in Benghazi?
BIDEN: With all due respect, that's a bunch of malarkey. The congressman here cut embassy security in his budget by $300 million below what we asked for.
Q: What were you first told about the attack? Why were people talking about protests?
BIDEN: Because that's exactly what we were told by the intelligence community. You know, usually when there's a crisis, we pull together as a nation. But even before we knew what happened to the ambassador, the governor was holding a press conference. That's not presidential leadership.
RYAN: We don't want to lose the gains we've gotten. We agree with the administration on their 2014 transition. And that means we want to make sure our commanders have what they need to make sure that it is successful so that this does not once again become a launching pad for terrorists.
BIDEN: Let's keep our eye on the ball. The fact is we went there for one reason: to get those people who killed Americans, al-Qaida. We've decimated al-Qaida central. We have eliminated Osama bin Laden. That was our purpose. And in fact, in the meantime, what we said we would do, we would help train the Afghan military. It's their responsibility to take over their own security. That's why, with 49 of our allies in Afghanistan, we've agreed on a gradual drawdown so we're out of there in the year 2014. [Ryan & Romney] say it's based on conditions, which means it depends. It does not depend for us. We are leaving in 2014, period.
America and our freedoms have always had enemies. Even now, there are people all over the world who hate what America stands for and the example we provide the world. These enemies want to impose their world view on others. Eleven years later, the world remains a dangerous place and our nation remains at war. It is imperative that we continue the fight against radical Islamists, terrorist sympathizers and those who harbor them. As Americans, we should never forget the innocent lives we lost on September 11th, and we should renew our commitment to stand for the freedoms we have always defended.
Out of the rubble and the ruins, and out of the destruction, we were reminded that evil men guided by an evil ideology can do great harm to us; that no nation, no state, and no city is beyond their reach. And so we need to remain vigilant together and be prepared to act together with our friends and allies to discourage, deter and defend against aggressors all across the world against our nation and Israel.
A: Yes, but it doesn't stop at the PATRIOT Act--the National Defense Authorization Act is easily the equivalent of the PATRIOT Act.
Q: That's the NDAA which passed the House and Senate last week, which allows indefinite detention of terrorism suspects?
A: Yes; the PATRIOT Act is a flagrant violation of Fourth Amendment--and the NDAA does away with our right to trial by jury and a presumption of innocence. Put the two together--in addition to enormous sums into local security and militarizing the police--it's a very dangerous combination. In many ways it's far worse than the violations in prior wars--when civil liberties were restricted but only during the duration of the war. We now have a war without end--so this is a permanent strike against the Constitution. This is the makings of a disaster. It's outrageous to think that this charge is being led by a Constitutional lawyer who occupies the Presidential office.
Pres. Bush authorized a covert program to "undermine the electrical and computer systems" at Natanz, Iran's uranium enrichment facility. What came out of that initiative was the Stuxnet cyber worm. It was unleashed against Iran's nuclear centrifuges and made them spin so fast they destroyed themselves. The operation was very successful and destroyed roughly 1/5 of Iran's centrifuges. No one knows for sure how many months or years we put back on Iran's nuclear clock. Some analysts say 6 months, others 1 or 2 years, But that's the point: the clock is still ticking.
"This guy has done things and put in jeopardy the lives and occupations of people in other parts of the world," Biden said. "He's made it difficult to conduct our business with our allies and our friends. ... It has done damage."
Biden also claimed the leaks have had a direct impact on his own work when meeting with world leaders. "There is a desire now to meet with me alone rather than have staff in the room," he said. "It makes things more cumbersome."
Biden said the Justice Department is exploring possible legal action against Assange. His comments echoed those made by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell earlier this month. "I think the man is a high-tech terrorist," McConnell said.
A: There is no greater risk to our security than radical Islamic terrorists. We must be active in targeting and destroying terrorist cells and their leaders. If they are captured, we need to try them before military tribunals in Guantanamo not in civilian courts in Manhattan.
A: Yes.
Q: Should law enforcement agencies have greater discretion to monitor domestic communications, to prevent future terrorist attacks?
A: "Greater discretion" is too broad in determining the balance between civil liberties and national security. Specifics are necessary.
Q: Do you support pre-emptive military strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to United States national security?
A: Again, the question on pre-emptive strikes cannot be answered without addressing the nature of the "threat".
"In the four years since the inspectors left,
intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including
al-Qaeda members."
--Sen. Hillary Clinton, Oct. 10, 2002
"Saddam Hussein certainly has chemical and biological weapons. There's no question about that."
--Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Nov. 17, 2002
"We have known for many years that Saddam
Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
--Sen. Edward Kennedy, Sept. 27, 2003
"If we wait for the danger to become clear, it could be too late."
--Sen. Joseph Biden, Sept. 4, 2002
A: I think it is important to have very thorough surveillance capabilities, but they also need to be monitored by Congress. With technology being what it is today, we have new tools that have never been available before, things that our founding fathers never envisioned when the Bill of Rights was crafted. And so it is uncharted territory. Two things we need to remember--one, the first job of the president is to keep this country safe. He should use everything at his disposal to do so. But it is also the job of Congress to make sure that the executive branch does not overstep its boundaries in terms of power. That is why we have the balance of power. And I think there is a healthy tension that was designed into our system.
Right now, we spend about 3.9% of our GDP on defense, compared with about 6% in 1986, under President Ronald Reagan. We need to return to that 6% level. And we must stop using active-duty forces for nation building and return to our policy of using other government agencies to build schools, hospitals, roads, sewage treatment plants, water filtration systems, electrical facilities, and legal and banking systems.
Although we cannot export democracy as if it were Coca-Cola or KFC, we can nurture moderate forces in places where al Qaeda is seeking to replace modern evil with medieval evil. Such moderation may not look or function like our system--it may be a benevolent oligarchy or more tribal than individualistic--but both for us and for the peoples of those countries, it will be better than the dictatorships they have now or the theocracy they would have under radical Islamists.
The first rule of war is "know your enemy," and most Americans do not know theirs. To grasp the magnitude of the threat, we first have to understand what makes Islamic terrorists tick. [Jihadists] see nothing decadent or sinful in murdering in order to achieve their ends. America's culture of life stands in stark contrast to the jihadists' culture of death.
There are two things wrong with this statement. One, it took two months, not a "moment," for the price of a barrel of oil to increase by $18. The price per barrel was $80.31 on Sept. 26, the date of the Senate resolution. It wasn't until Nov. 19 that it went up as much as Biden says, to $99.16.
The second problem is that connecting the increase in the price of oil to the declaration on the Revolutionary Guard is a rather stunning post-hoc fallacy. There's no evidence that something like the Senate resolution would have anything approaching such a dramatic effect on the price of oil. Some would expect [SOME] impact from Bush's sabre-rattling [but] risky financial maneuvers by high-stakes speculators may be having a bigger effect.
A: It can be used as declaration. It's not even about going to war. Let's look at what happened from the moment that vote took place. Oil prices went up to $90 a barrel. Who benefits from that? All this talk of war and declaring people to be terrorists droves up the price of oil. We have emboldened Bush, at a minimum, his talk of world war III--totally irresponsible talk. We've emboldened him to be able to move, if he chooses to move. They're terrorists. The fact that they're terrorists on one side of the border or the other, we just declare them terrorists. That gives him the right to move against them. Thirdly, this has incredible consequences for Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have no driven, underground, every moderate in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. This puts Karzai and Musharraf in jeopardy. The notion is it plays into this whole urban legend that America's on a crusade against Islam. This was bad policy.
A: We need to put American troops not to do military action but to train and arm the Kurds. They are capable of taking care of those terrorist cells along the Kurdish territory. They've proven that. And we should provide some assistance both in arming them & training them, to try to resolve this crisis. It's not an exciting thing to see Turkey move across that border, but the more we can do to bolster the Kurds, that's our best strategy
: A president has to do whatever is necessary to protect the American people. If we think Iran is building nuclear capacity that could be used against us in any way, including selling some of the nuclear capacity to some other terrorist group, then yes, we have a right to do it. And I would do it in a heartbeat.
Q: Without going to Congress?
A: Well, if it's necessary to get it done because it's actionable right now, yes. If you have the time and the luxury of going to Congress, that's always better.
Q: And if Congress says no, what do you do?
A: You do what's best for the American people, and you suffer the consequences. What you never do is let the American people one day get hit with a nuclear device because you had politics going on in Washington instead of the protection of the American people first.
A: Certainly. The middle ground is that we win this war & we do it with honor. We don't just stay indefinitely. We put some pressure on the Saudis. Look, we've made them rich. Every time somebody in this room goes to the gas pump, you've helped make the Saudi royal family a little wealthier. And the money that has been used against us in terrorism has largely come from the Middle East. There's two things we've got to do. Number one, we've got to insist that the people in that neighborhood take a far greater role militarily and financially in solving the problem. It's their neighborhood. But the second thing we'd do, for our own national security, is end our dependence on foreign oil. And let's not play around and say "30 years," let's get it done. Let's get it done now. And let's make sure that we don't have to depend upon their oil for our future energy needs.
I thought this approach was flawed. The facts showed that terrorist groups didn't base their training camps in countries with strong governments or dictators; they found safe haven in failed states & grew stronger in the vacuum of power.
There was a lot of noise about overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Of the three Axis of Evil countries, Iraq was the country that could put up the least military resistance, and I believed Cheney & Rumsfeld were pushing the president toward an invasion
FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL: If it was up to me, I would close Guantanamo. Not tomorrow, but this afternoon. Every morning I pick up a paper and some authoritarian figure, some person somewhere is using Guantanamo to hide their own misdeeds. And so essentially, we have shaken the belief that the world had in America's justice system by keeping a place like Guantanamo open.Q: Do you agree with Secretary Powell?
A: I know it's become a symbol of what's wrong. It's more symbolic than it is a substantive issue, because people perceive of mistreatment when, in fact, there are extraordinary means being taken to make sure these detainees are being given, really, every consideration.
It may well be that the intelligence on which the decision was made was incomplete or flawed, but had we failed to topple Saddam's empire and he had utilized WMDs against us, there would have been an even greater anger that we failed to act.
Now that we have gone to Iraq, one thing is certain--we need to make sure that we finish the job and finish it right. If we were to pull out prematurely and allow tyranny to be restored to that nation, the ripple effect throughout the Middle East and the world would be profound.
A: Yes.
Q: Should law enforcement agencies have greater discretion to read mail and email, tap phones, and conduct random searches to prevent future terrorist attacks?
A: No.
Q: Do you support the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of prisoners in U.S. custody?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support a policy of pre-emptive military strikes?
A: No.
A: Yes.
Q: Should the US withdraw its troops from Iraq?
A: Yes.
Q: Discuss your proposals for an exit strategy in Iraq.
A: Immediate and unconditional withdrawal. The real US military mission was to establish military bases and control the oil, not WMDs, terrorism, and democracy as the politicians spun it. The mission was imperialistic. It was wrong and it should stop.
PENCE: On this deal, I think the president was ill-served by an antiquated process. We ought to talk about changing that in ways that reflect the post-9/11 world. While we cherish our relationship with the United Arab Emirates, that this was just a bridge too far in that new relationship given some of their troubling associations in the past. The Congress will soon reaffirm the importance of our new relationship with the UAE.
Q: And how do you do that?
PENCE: I hope to be a part of conversations ensuring that the royal family in Dubai knows that while this particular deal was not possible in our new relationship, that there's a great deal of gratitude for their support of our War on Terror.
When I look at some of the things that happened in government, I can't believe it. Countries that we're protecting are screwing us on oil prices. It's unthinkable. I wouldn't stand for it.
To begin with, I’m not laughing at missile defense, and I never have. The question isn’t whether or not such a defense can be built. The question is whether it is the right defense for our times. And I believe the answer is, largely, no. In this age of miniaturization, our real threat is not going to be flying in on a missile. It’s going to be delivered in a van, or a suitcase, or a fire-hydrant-sized canister.
[We should] prepare for the possibility of attack, to avoid total panic in case an attack does occur. Our adversaries understand that if they are able to blindside us they will be much more likely to succeed in blackmailing us.
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