State of Connecticut secondary Archives: on War & Peace

Chris Murphy: It's dangerous that administration is not talking to Iran

Chris Murphy: Executing foreign political figures opens Pandora's box

Matthew Corey: Increase American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts

A: Yes. Q: Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?

A: No.

Matthew Corey: ISIS must be eliminated at all costs

Matthew Corey: Strong proponent of the war in Iraq

Dan Carter: ISIS threat is very real both at home and abroad

Richard Blumenthal: Cautious support of Iran nuclear deal; needs more oversight

When news of a brokered deal first emerged this summer, Blumenthal welcomed the use of diplomacy but warned against deception. "While our common hope may be that diplomacy has succeeded in barring an Iranian path to nuclear weapons capability, Congress must apply exacting standards and strict scrutiny," he said at the time.

The newly proposed legislation sets US policy on Iran to state explicitly that "Iran does not have an inherent right to uranium enrichment," and that "all of the options available to the US, including the military option, remain available."

August Wolf: We can't trust the Iranian terrorist regime with nukes

His spokesman said the campaign has purchased between $15,000 and $20,000 in ads on cable television in the New Haven and Hartford markets in an effort to start a public conversation. "We'll see how it delivers," the spokesman said.

Blumenthal recently quizzed Pentagon officials about the proposed deal, but he is undecided, unlike his Democratic ally from New York, US Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has announced his opposition.

Linda McMahon: Support sanctions on Iran; keep all options on table

BLUMENTHAL: I support strengthening the current structure of sanctions on Iran, until it relinquishes its aspirations for nuclear weapons.

McMAHON: The first, and most important, thing we must do is prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The CIA has already declared that Iran is capable of producing nuclear weapons within the next few years. While I support building strong international support for sanctions, we cannot wait for the United Nations to enact further restrictions that Iran will simply ignore. I do support the enactment of the recent sanctions by the US and the European Union on Iran. However, with that in mind, I believe the US cannot allow those who would oppose or maliciously delay sanctions dictate the content or the timing of our efforts. The US should continue to exert pressure and press for hard sanctions against Iran until the threat is neutralized. All options in dealing with Iran must remain on the table.

Richard Blumenthal: Strengthen sanctions on Iran, adding an arms embargo

BLUMENTHAL: The current political leadership in Tehran has repeatedly demonstrated antipathy toward basic human rights, and an unyielding animosity toward Israel. I support strengthening the current structure of sanctions on Iran, and work to increase the pressure on the Iranian regime until it relinquishes its aspirations for nuclear weapons. Some of the actions I would support include gaining international support for an arms embargo, targeted travel bans, freezing of assets, and sanctions designed to impede the flow of refined petroleum products into Iran.

McMAHON: The first, and most important, thing we must do is prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The US should continue to exert pressure and press for hard sanctions against Iran until the threat is neutralized. All options in dealing with Iran must remain on the table.

Joseph Lieberman: Overthrowing Saddam was right, and we can’t abandon Iraq now

A: My position on Iraq has been clear. And I believe it was the right thing for us to overthrow Saddam Hussein. I have been critical of the things that the administration did after that. But the fact is, we’re there now. And we have a choice. And that choice is between helping the Iraqis achieve a free and independent Iraq or abandoning them and letting the terrorists take over. The latter choice is one we cannot make. And I have leveled with people about it and asked them to respect me for having the guts to take an unpopular political position.

Joseph Lieberman: Getting out too soon will be a disaster for Iraq and for us

LAMONT: Absolutely. Like Chris Dodd, like the heart of the Democratic Party, I supported both of those amendments [setting a deadline for withdrawal]. It’s time for us to change course. Time for us to start getting our frontline troops out of harm’s way, within the next six months, and we get our troops out of Iraq over the course of the next year. That fundamentally is a change of direction. You have an open-ended stay-the-course strategy.

LIEBERMAN: Absolutely untrue. I have said the sooner we get out of Iraq, the better. But if we get out too soon, it will be a disaster for the Iraqis and for us. If you tell your enemy when you’re going to leave, they’ll wait and create disaster.

Ned Lamont: Lieberman is only person confused about my position on Iraq

LAMONT: Senator, you’re the only person in Connecticut who is confused about my position on the war in Iraq. President Bush rushed us into this war. He told us it would be easy. We would be welcomed as liberators. Weapons of mass destruction. And Sen. Lieberman cheered on the president every step of the way, when we should have been asking the tough questions. And this war is not a single issue, Senator. It says so much about what type of a country we are. The tens of thousands of people who have died and been wounded, the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been spent and wasted and the values, the values about this country and our moral authority, and what it says about who we are. It’s destabilized the Middle East, it was a mistake, and we should admit it.

Ned Lamont: 6 months to withdraw from front lines; 12 months out of Iraq

LAMONT: Absolutely. Like Chris Dodd, like the heart of the Democratic Party, I supported both of those amendments [setting a deadline for withdrawal]. It’s time for us to change course. Time for us to start getting our frontline troops out of harm’s way, within the next six months, and we get our troops out of Iraq over the course of the next year. That fundamentally is a change of direction. You have an open-ended stay-the-course strategy.

LIEBERMAN: Absolutely untrue. I have said the sooner we get out of Iraq, the better. But if we get out too soon, it will be a disaster for the Iraqis and for us. If you tell your enemy when you’re going to leave, they’ll wait and create disaster.

Ned Lamont: $250M per day in Iraq better spent on domestic issues

Lamont said people wonder why America can afford $250 million a day to fight in Iraq but can’t afford universal health-care coverage, or “to give our kids a running head start,” he said.