Iraq :
4. Iraq – Bush Administration justification of the War:
What is your position on this statement: “The current administration has changed and continues to change the justification for the Iraq war, that is, starting with weapons of mass destruction, to toppling Saddam Hussein, to providing a democratic Iraq government, to now stating that we can't leave because there will be massive bloodshed from sectarian violence.”
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
5 . Do you think the Administration intentionally misled the American people and distorted the record to sway public opinion and lead us into war?
I think it is clear that the Administration repeatedly lied to the American people in order to mislead us into war.
6 . Should Congress hire a prosecutor to begin immediate impeachment proceedings of Vice President Cheney and President Bush?
While I believe that Bush and Cheney have committed impeachable offenses, I think it's a little late to start impeachment proceedings – we're less than a year from a new administration. The time to impeach them would have been when we first discovered the Administration had misled us into the Iraq war, but I certainly would support impeachment proceedings if given the chance to vote.
Iraq : The Aftermath
7. The U.S. is spending about 2 billion dollars per week in Iraq , with hundreds of Iraqis and soldiers dying. We hope that Congress can bring this war to a close soon. What is your position on the following four statements?
“Begin immediate and orderly withdrawal of troops from Iraq .”
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
b. “Begin immediate replacement of U.S. troops and contractors with international stabilization forces.”
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
c. “Prohibit any permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq .”
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
Authorize a wide array of non-military U.S. bilateral and multilateral assistance for reconstruction and reconciliation in Iraq , including a compensation fund for Iraqi noncombatant civilian casualties.
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
8. The U.S. has a responsibility to provide financial and humanitarian aid for at least four million Iraqis who are either displaced in their own country or have become refugees in surrounding countries.
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
Iran:
9. What should be our relationship with Iran ?
It should be one of constructive dialogue and engagement. Iran is not a political monolith; there are real divisions in Iran , including moderate and democratic factions. Bush's approach of no-dialogue plus saber-rattling only worsens relations. It also helps President Ahmadinejad quiet his opposition in Iran .
Military Spending:
10 . The Administration proposed $623 billion for FY 2008 military spending, more than the world's next 30 countries combined. What are your views?
“I believe the military budget should be.”
[ ] increased by about $ __________ billion
[ ] maintained at about its current level
[X] decreased by about $__________ billion
I'm not in a position to specify a dollar amount, but at a minimum, I support the 15% reduction backed by Iowans for Sensible Priorities.
11. What is your position on this statement: “I favor reducing military spending and dedicating more resources to meeting essential human needs and providing critical human services”?
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
National Security Policy and Strategy:
National Security Agency:
12. What is your view regarding President Bush admitting at his December 16, 2005, press conference that he did order the NSA (National Security Agency) to spy on American citizens?
The FISA law was enacted 30 years ago to prevent abuses by the executive branch, and I consider Bush's 2002 presidential order to permit spying on Americans without going through the FISA court to be an example of such abuse. I strongly oppose our government spying on American citizens, and I oppose legislation such as the PATRIOT Act and the Protect America Act that Bush has used to give his actions cover.
Preemptive war strategy :
The Administration claims that a dangerous combination of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction requires and justifies a new strategy of first strike or preemptive military attack. The doctrine as declared in the September 2002 report, The National Strategy of the Unites States of America , states: “We will not hesitate to act alone, if necessary, to exercise our right of self-defense by acting preemptively against such terrorists.”
13 . What is your position on this statement: “Congress should reverse the policy that approves presidential power to initiate first-strike attack and preemptive war against perceived enemies?"
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
Nuclear Weapons:
At the height of the cold war, when every possibility existed for imminent attack, President Kennedy noted that “in an age where a single nuclear weapon contains almost 10 times the explosive force of all the allied air forces in WW II, nuclear war makes no sense” and that “the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn.”
14. What is your position on this Nuclear de-alert statement? “I support Admiral Stansfield Turner's proposal that the U.S. should take the initiative to create a reciprocal reduction in nuclear alert status by separating warheads from delivery systems and moving the components hundreds of miles away to storage sites monitored by verification teams.”
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
I agree with Adm. Turner's recommendation of “strategic escrow” for reducing the possibility of a nuclear launch. With the deterioration of nuclear weapons themselves, in addition to the deterioration of government control of nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union , there is too great a chance for a launch to occur because of mistakes and accidents.
15. The Administration advocates new types of “usable” nuclear weapons such as “bunker busters” and low yield “tactical” nuclear weapons. What is your position on this statement? "I will support continued development of new generations of nuclear weapons."
___ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree _X_Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
Using nuclear weapons:
The Administration Nuclear Posture Review suggests possible first use of nuclear weapons against countries without nuclear weapons, such as Syria , Libya and Iran , or possibly in confrontations between China and Taiwan or on the Korean Peninsula .
16 . What is your position on this statement: “I support the Nuclear Posture Review's suggestion of possible first use of nuclear weapons by the U.S. ”?
___ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree _X_Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
Nuclear Non-Proliferation:
What is your position on this statement: “I favor the U.S. helping to pay the costs of another country (such as Russia or North Korea ) to dismantle its nuclear weapons program”?
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
I agree with the 9/11 Commission that we need to secure vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in order to keep them out of the hands of terrorists. Helping to dismantle these weapons would be some of the wisest defense dollars we could spend, within a reasonable limit.
18. What is your position on this statement: “If elected I will press for ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which would reinforce arms control agreements across the world and help prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons”?
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
World-wide Nuclear Weapon Production:
19. What is your position on this statement: “The U.S. should not question other countries about their development of nuclear weapons until we ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.”
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
The U.S. role in the world:
20. What policy and action do you advocate for responding to North Korea ?
I support constructive dialogue and engagement with N. Korea . Kim Jong Il won't be president forever.
21. What would you do to work with Israel and the Palestinians to help end or minimize the longstanding, bitter conflict between the two communities?
I strongly support both the state of Israel and a Palestinian state. The US has a history of being an honest broker between the parties and helping to bring about significant progress, as when President Jimmy Carter helped establish the Camp David Accords. But Bush was inexplicably AWOL on this issue for most of his presidency. I will work with the Congress and our next president toward a solution for lasting peace that respects the rights and interests of both communities.
22. What is your position on this statement: “The U.S. must develop an anti-missile defense system”?
___ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree _X_Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
United Nations and International Cooperation:
23. What is your position on this statement: “I support using the United Nations as the primary route/vehicle for dealing with ethnic cleansing, civil war, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”?
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
24. What is your position on this statement? “I am committed to the U.S. fulfilling all its funding obligations in support of the U.N.”
_X_ Strongly Agree ___Agree ___ Disagree ___Strongly Disagree ___ Undecided
Conventional Weapons Sales:
25. Please discuss your views on whether our government should be promoting and underwriting weapons sales and the selling of the latest high tech U.S. weaponry to the international community.
I don't think the government should be in the arms business.
Charges of war crimes in an international court of law:
In a speech on September 6, 2006, George W. Bush admitted to criminal violations of the 1996 War Crimes Act. He implicitly admitted authorizing disappearances, extrajudicial imprisonment, torture, transporting prisoners between countries and denying the International Committee of the Red Cross access to prisoners.
These are all serious violations of the Geneva Conventions. The War Crimes Act makes grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and all violations of Common Article 3 punishable by fines, imprisonment or, if death results to the victim, the death penalty.
In light of these grave violations of international law, would you be willing to support bringing charges against this administration for war crimes in an international court of law once a new president take office?
Yes.
