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2008 Elections

Lebanon: Republican Candidates

Posted on Thursday October 25, 2007

Sen. John McCain

“And to speak of terrorism is also to speak of Hezbollah.  Israel’s chance for enduring peace with Lebanon resides in a government that has a monopoly on authority within its country.  That means no independent militias, no Hezbollah fighters, no weapons and equipment flowing to Hezbollah.  Yet neither the Lebanese Army nor the international force there is prepared or willing to take on Hezbollah.  So long as that is the case, the current pause is likely to enable Hezbollah to regroup, reconstitute, and rearm.  There is one bottom line:  to achieve lasting peace, sooner or later, one way or another, Hezbollah must be disarmed.”

July 17, 2007
Senator McCain Addresses Christian United For Israel

Rep. Ron Paul

It is very clear, reading this resolution objectively, that all the terrorists are on one side and all the victims and the innocents are on the other side. I find this unfair, particularly considering the significantly higher number of civilian casualties among Lebanese civilians. I would rather advocate neutrality rather than picking sides, which is what this resolution does…

It is very easy to criticize the Government of Lebanon for not doing more about Hezbollah. I object to terrorism committed by Hezbollah because I am a strong opponent to all violence on all sides. But I also object to the unreasonable accusations that the Government of Lebanon has not done enough, when we realize that Israel occupied southern Lebanon for 18 years and was not able to neutralize Hezbollah.

July 20, 2006
House Floor Statement in opposition to Res. 291 which condemned the attacks against Israel

Gov. Mitt Romney

I don’t know what President -- all the things President Bush has done, but I can tell you, I’m not a carbon copy of President Bush. And there are things I would do that would be done differently. I think when there’s a country like Lebanon, for instance, that becomes a democracy, that instead of standing by and seeing how they do, we should have been working with the government there to assure that they have the rule of law, that they have agricultural and economic policies that work for them, that they have schools that are not Wahhabi schools, that we try and make sure they have good health care. We bring together not just America, but all the nations of the civilized world. We help draw these folks toward modernity, as opposed to having them turn toward the violence and the extreme, which Hezbollah and Hamas brought forward. And that kind of a campaign of values, combined with our strong arms, speaking softly but carrying a strong stick, as Teddy Roosevelt said, that will help move the world to a safer place.

August 5, 2007
Transcript, Republican Presidential Debate, Des Moines, IA