Campaign Statements — Afghanistan

Saturday January 07, 2012

“I don’t want to be nation building in Southwest Asia.”

“You know we’ve been at the war on terror for 10 years now, we’ve been in Afghanistan. And I say we’ve got a lot to show for our efforts…The Taliban is no longer in power. We’ve run out al Qaeda, they’re now in sanctuaries. We’ve had free elections. Osama bin Laden is no longer around. We have strengthened civil society. We’ve helped the military. We’ve helped the police. I believe it’s time to come home. And I would say within the first year of my administration…I would want to draw them down. And I want to recognize Afghanistan for what it is. It is not a counter insurgency. I don’t want to be nation building in Southwest Asia when this nation is in such need of repair.”

CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Jon Huntsman | War on Terror |

Saturday January 07, 2012

“A fundamentally new strategy…comparable to what we developed to fight the cold war.”

“I think we need a fundamentally new strategy for the [Middle East] comparable to what we developed to fight the cold war.”

CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Iran | Newt Gingrich | War on Terror |

Saturday January 07, 2012

“If they close the Straits of Hormuz…you have the Muslim Brotherhood winning in Egypt.”

“Afghanistan is a tiny piece of a gigantic mess that is very dangerous. Pakistan is unstable and they probably have between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons. Iran is actively trying to get nuclear weapons. I mean they go out and practice closing the Strait of Hormuz, where one out of every six barrels of oil goes through every day. And if they close the Straits of Hormuz, you have an industrial depression across the planet within 48 hours. You have the Muslim Brotherhood winning the elections in Egypt. The truth is, we don’t know who’s in charge in Libya.”

CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | The Arab Spring | Iran | Newt Gingrich | War on Terror |

Tuesday November 22, 2011

“They want to kill us over there because…they want to…get people who occupy their country out.”

“I worry most about overreaction on our part, getting involved in another war when we don’t need to, when we have been attacked, and our national security has not been at threat. And I worry a lot about people never have come around to understanding who the Taliban is and why they are motivated.

...Taliban doesn’t mean they want to come here and kill us. The Taliban means they want to kill us over there because all they want to do is get people who occupy their country out of their country, just like we would if anybody tried to occupy us.”

CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Ron Paul | War on Terror |

Tuesday November 22, 2011

“We’re fighting a war against radical Islam.”

“I agree with Ron Paul. We are not fighting a war on terrorism. Terrorism is a tactic. We’re fighting a war against radical Islam. And what radical Islam is telling—all of the radical Islamist leaders are saying is that just wait America out, America is weak, they will not stand for the fight, they cannot maintain this, they’ll set time limits, politics will interfere, and we will tell the people in Afghanistan, we will tell the people in Iraq and other places that we will be the strong horse in the region.”

CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Iraq | Islamophobia | Rick Santorum | War on Terror |

Tuesday November 22, 2011

“An expanded drone program is something that would serve our national interest.”

“And an expanded drone program is something that would serve our national interest…I think it must be done. And I think it must be consistent with recognizing the reality on the ground of what we need out of Afghanistan—we don’t need 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.We don’t need to nation-build in Afghanistan when this nation so desperately needs to be built….We need something in Afghanistan. We need Special Forces and drones.”

CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Jon Huntsman | War on Terror |

Friday October 07, 2011

“The United States enjoys significant leverage over [Afghanistan and Pakistan].”

“It is in the interests of all three nations to see that Afghanistan and the Afghanistan/ Pakistan border region are rid of the Taliban and other insurgent groups…. Pakistan should understand that any connection between insurgent forces and Pakistan’s security and intelligence forces must be severed. The United States enjoys significant leverage over both of these nations. We should not be shy about using it.”

CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Mitt Romney | War on Terror |

Friday October 07, 2011

“It raises questions about whether the timing is politically inspired.”

“This past June, President Obama disregarded the counsel of his top military commanders, including General David Petraeus, and announced a full withdrawal of those 30,000 surge troops by September 2012. That date falls short of the commanders’ reported recommendation that the troops remain through the end of 2012 and the Afghan “fighting season” to solidify our gains. That date also happens to be just weeks before a U.S. presidential election. There is no military rationale for it. It raises questions about whether the timing is politically inspired.”

CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Mitt Romney |

Friday October 07, 2011

“The United States enjoys significant leverage over [Afghanistan and Pakistan].”

“It is in the interests of all three nations to see that Afghanistan and the Afghanistan/ Pakistan border region are rid of the Taliban and other insurgent groups…. Pakistan should understand that any connection between insurgent forces and Pakistan’s security and intelligence forces must be severed. The United States enjoys significant leverage over both of these nations. We should not be shy about using it.”

CATEGORIES: Afghanistan | Mitt Romney | War on Terror |