Compare the Candidates
on Afghanistan, Pakistan & Iraq
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Candidates' Positions and Views |
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for:
2012 Republican Presidential Candidates |
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Candidates positions and views on other Issues where information is available: |
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The report below lists the candidate responses to Afghanistan, Pakistan & Iraq issue questions. The responses were provided by Mitt Romney and Ron Paul or were obtained from their websites. The candidates select the issues and questions for which they want to provide a response. The first link is a report of all the issues and questions made available to the candidates. Many issues and questions had no responses - links are only provided where we have information. If there are many candidates for this office, you may have to scroll down to compare all responses. |
| Afghanistan, Pakistan & Iraq |
Mitt Romney - R
Website
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No Running Mate Selected |
| Afghanistan, a General Statement |
Romney: Enjoying the sanctuary of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, al Qaeda set in motion the conspiracy that killed so many Americans on September 11, 2001. We learned many bitter lessons that day, including that we are not safe from enemies who plot freely against us from the other side of the world. That is why so many of our best and bravest young men and women are risking their lives in Afghanistan. Our mission in Afghanistan is to eliminate al Qaeda from the region and degrade the Taliban and other insurgent groups to the point where they are not existential threats to the Afghan government and do not destabilize Pakistan, with its stock of nuclear weapons. Our objective is to ensure that Afghanistan will never again become a launching pad for terror and to send a message to any other nation that would harbor terrorists with designs on the American homeland.
Source: www.mittromney.com/collection/foreign-policy (08/07/2012) |
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| Pakistan, a General Statement |
Romney: To defeat the insurgency in Afghanistan, the United States will need the cooperation of both the Afghan and Pakistani governments. 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. Mitt Romney will work with both the Afghan government and Pakistan to ensure that those nations are fully contributing to success in Afghanistan. But we will only persuade Afghanistan and Pakistan to be resolute if they are convinced that the United States will itself be resolute. Only an America that appears fully committed to success will eliminate the incentives for them to hedge their bets by aligning with opposing forces.
Source: www.mittromney.com/collection/foreign-policy (08/07/2012) |
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| Iraq, a General Statement |
Romney: U.S. military and diplomatic personnel have made stunning gains in Iraq, pulling the war effort there back from the precipice of defeat. The 2007 "surge" of troops successfully provided security to the population and granted space and time for the Iraqis, our diplomatic corps, and our coalition partners to establish institutions of governance. This placed the goal of a democratic Iraq allied with the United States within reach. The Obama administration, however, has made decisions that threaten to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. President Obama's astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in Iraq and his decision to pull out all U.S. troops by the end of 2011 have unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of American men and women. The unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of a naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations with the Iraqi government. Reports indicate that our commanders in the field recommended a 14,000 to 18,000-strong residual force as the minimum necessary to carry out our transition mission. In light of these developments, it is impossible to forecast what conditions in Iraq will confront the next American president in January 2013. Mitt Romney will enter office seeking to use the broad array of our foreign-policy tools -- diplomatic, economic, and military -- to establish a lasting relationship with Iraq and guarantee that Baghdad remains a solid partner in a volatile and strategically vital region.
Source: www.mittromney.com/issues/middle-east (08/07/2012) |
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| Timetable for Withdrawal |
Romney: Much of the mission has been accomplished through the courage and dedication of our troops. The killing of Osama bin Laden was a landmark in the struggle for which President Obama deserves credit. Much more, however, remains to be done. Unfortunately, President Obama has repeatedly frustrated and imperiled the American mission through a series of unwise decisions. After a protracted deliberation process, President Obama in December 2009 announced he would support a "surge" that would entail introducing an additional 30,000 troops into Afghanistan. But in the very same speech announcing the surge, he put forward a timetable for withdrawal. The mixed message left our Afghan allies in doubt about our resolve and encouraged the Taliban to believe that they could wait us out. 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. Whatever the motivation behind the decision, it means that our military will be compelled to begin moving troops and equipment out of Afghanistan in the middle of the fighting season, taking away forces and resources it needs to combat the enemy.
Source: www.mittromney.com/collection/foreign-policy (08/07/2012) |
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| US Military Presence in Afghanistan |
Romney: Mitt Romney will never make national-security decisions based upon electoral politics. Upon taking office, he will review our transition to the Afghan military by holding discussions with our commanders in the field. He will order a full interagency assessment of our military and assistance presence in Afghanistan to determine the level required to secure our gains and to train Afghan forces to the point where they can protect the sovereignty of Afghanistan from the tyranny of the Taliban. Withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan under a Romney administration will be based on conditions on the ground as assessed by our military commanders.
Source: www.mittromney.com/collection/foreign-policy (08/07/2012) |
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| President Hamid Karzai |
Romney: The United States must be clear in what we require of both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai should understand that our commitment must be met with reciprocal efforts to crack down on corruption in his government, respect free and fair elections as required by the Afghan constitution, and coordinate with the United States on fighting the narcotics trade that fuels the insurgency. 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.
Source: www.mittromney.com/collection/foreign-policy (08/07/2012) |
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| Iraq War |
Romney: "It was the right decision to go into Iraq. I supported it at the time; I support it now. It was not well managed in the -- after the takedown of Saddam Hussein and his military. That was done brilliantly, an extraordinary success. But in the years that followed, it was not well -- we were undermanaged, underprepared, underplanned, understaffed, and then we come into the phase that we have now. The plan that President Bush and General Petraeus put together is working. It's changing lives there. And perhaps most importantly, it's making sure that al Qaeda and no other group like them is becoming a superpower, if you will, in the communities, and having a safe haven from which they launch attacks against us."
Source: Republican presidential debate in Boca Raton,
FL (10/12/2012) |
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| These are available issue topics for which there were no responses. |
| Predator Drone Strikes |
| Taliban & Radical Islamic Jihadists |
| Iraq Policy |
| Iraq Reconstruction |
| Iraq Political Progress |
| Private Security like Blackwater |
| Cutting Off War Funding |
| Federalizing Iraq into Kurd, Shiite and Sunni States |
| Sunnis and Shiites |
| Humanitarian Situation in Iraq |
| Length of Deployments |
| Continued US Military Presence in Iraq |
| Deadline for US Pullout |
| Troop Surge |
| Iraq's Role in War on Terror |
| Loss of American Lives in Iraq |
| Staying in Iraq for "as long as it takes to do the job" |
| Iraq Role in Making Americans Safer |
| Afghanistan, Pakistan & Iraq |
Ron Paul - R
Website
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No Running Mate Selected |
| Afghanistan, a General Statement |
Paul: Shortly after 9/11, I voted for the authorization to go into Afghanistan because it told the president to do what he already had the authority to do: go after the ones who directly hit us. I was extremely disappointed that the mission there changed to one of nation-building, and I support immediate withdrawal of our troops from Afghanistan.
Source: Ron Paul (02/25/2008) |
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| Iraq, a General Statement |
Paul: Instead of securing our borders, we've been planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression. Within a few short years, we turned Iraq into the world's leading breeding ground for terrorists.
Source: www.ronpaul.com/
on-the-issues/national-defense (10/31/2011) |
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| Timetable for Withdrawal |
Paul: I favor an immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq.
Source: Ron Paul (02/25/2008) |
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| Iraq Policy |
Paul: On my first day as commander-in-chief, I will direct the Joint Chiefs of Staff and our commanders on the ground to devise and execute a plan to immediately withdraw our troops in the safest manner possible.
Source: Ron Paul (02/25/2008) |
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| Federalizing Iraq into Kurd, Shiite and Sunni States |
Paul: I believe that the Iraqi people must make the decision to do this or not.
Source: Ron Paul (02/25/2008) |
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| Continued US Military Presence in Iraq |
Paul: We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing America and bring the troops home. No war should ever be fought without a declaration of war voted upon by the Congress, as required by the Constitution.
Source: www.ronpaul2008.com (12/02/2007) |
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| Loss of American Lives in Iraq |
Paul: This war has cost more than 3,000 American lives, thousands of seriously wounded, and hundreds of billions of dollars. We must have new leadership in the White House to ensure this never happens again.
Source: www.ronpaul2008.com (12/02/2007) |
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| These are available issue topics for which there were no responses. |
| Pakistan, a General Statement |
| US Military Presence in Afghanistan |
| President Hamid Karzai |
| Predator Drone Strikes |
| Taliban & Radical Islamic Jihadists |
| Iraq War |
| Iraq Reconstruction |
| Iraq Political Progress |
| Private Security like Blackwater |
| Cutting Off War Funding |
| Sunnis and Shiites |
| Humanitarian Situation in Iraq |
| Length of Deployments |
| Deadline for US Pullout |
| Troop Surge |
| Iraq's Role in War on Terror |
| Staying in Iraq for "as long as it takes to do the job" |
| Iraq Role in Making Americans Safer |