Each candidate’s position on addressing the threat of terrorism in general and their attitude toward specific campaigns, principally the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Additional positions may be found in the National Security section.
Words: Clinton believes we should redeploy troops out of Iraq accompanied by regional diplomacy; she takes responsibility for her vote to authorize the use of force against Iran, but does not feel it was a mistake, claiming “we are safer than we were, but we’re not yet safe enough”. (more…)
Words: The “McCain Principle” is that committing troops means completing the mission. He believes that the “war on terror” is the overriding, transcendent issue of the campaign - and that it is a war we must fight and win. “It’s a fight between a just regard for human dignity (more…)
Words: Obama advocates a slow, scheduled withdrawal from Iraq (which he argues was a strategic blunder) and feels we should have an open dialogue with Syria and Iran. He believes that the focus of the “war on terror” should be on al-Qaeda in Pakistan and the Taliban. (more…)
Words: Paul believes that the invasion of Iraq was illegal, that it was not about pursuing al-Qaeda, but pursuing neoconservative goals, and that we are more threatened by staying there than by withdrawing. He argues that intervention abroad incites hatred and feeds terrorism. (more…)
Words: Romney believes that Iraq is part of a global jihadist movement and that precipitous withdrawal would be a mistake. He supports the invasion, but feels that mistakes were subsequently made. He also feels we should keep open the option to attack al-Qaeda in Pakistan. (more…)
Words: Biden believes we should begin a slow withdrawal of troops from Iraq but warns that abandoning the current government will lead to chaos. He also feels that the partition of Iraq is inevitable. He advocates replacing the preemption doctrine with a prevention policy. (more…)
Words: Edwards feels that al-Qaeda should be the target in the “war on terror”, not Iraq, that North Korea’s nuclear program should be shut down, and that our security depends on working with our allies. He voted for the authorization to use force in Iraq, but has since recanted (more…)
Words: Giuliani believes that Iraq is one battle in the overall “war on terror” and that we should keep open the options of unilaterally invading Pakistan and using tactical nukes on Iran. He also advocates active reconstruction of the Iraqi infrastructure . “Part of what we have to do (more…)
Words: Huckabee feels that we should “finish the job” in Iraq - and make sure it’s done right. He advocates more regional diplomacy and cooperation, especially from the Saudis. “We’ve got to insist that the people in that neighborhood take a far greater role militarily (more…)
Words: Kucinich believes that the invasion of Iraq and US aggression toward Iran are predicated on oil interests and that our military should be used for peace-keeping. He also feels that changes in American policy and solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the key to Middle Eastern stability (more…)
Words: Richardson believes that reconciliation and reconstruction cannot occur in Iraq until the US withdraws - though he feels the best solution to Iraq is a federated partition - and that Congress should de-fund the war effort. He also advocates sanctions against Iran. (more…)
Words: Thompson believes we were right to invade Iraq and would continue President Bush’s policy there. He also advocates a preemptive attack on Iran, should they get close to developing nuclear weapons. “Let’s not minimize the challenges. Our nation faces a formidable enemy (more…)
