State of Minnesota Archives: on War & Peace

Al Franken: Supported airstrikes in Syria to fight ISIS

Franken countered that he pressed the FBI and US Justice Department to focus more resources to crack down on terrorist recruitment. Franken said McFadden last year ducked a question on what action to take after Syrian President Bashar Assad was believed to have used chemical weapons on his own people. "He refused to answer because it was a tough call," Franken said. "It is easy to score political points from the bleachers. This is a serious job. You've got to make real choices in real time."

Mike McFadden: Lack of anti-ISIS strategy makes world more dangerous

"It's disappointing that President Obama says 'we don't have a strategy' to deal with ISIS even though the situation in Iraq remains unstable and our military is continuing with air strikes," said McFadden. "Between Ukraine, Syria and Iraq, we are seeing first hand the consequences of not having a coherent foreign policy agenda. It began in Benghazi and continues to this day with the rise of ISIS. Senator Franken has supported President Obama's foreign policy blunders every step of the way. He's kept his head down and supported a President who is making the world a more dangerous place. It's time for a change."

President Obama on ISIS: "'I don't want to put the cart before the horse,' Obama told reporters during a White House news briefing. 'We don't have a strategy yet.'" (CNN, Aug. 29, 2014)

Amy Klobuchar: Work together with other countries to solve Iraq problem

KLOBUCHAR: As of Thanksgiving, we’re going to have been in this war longer than WWII. If together with other countries we were able to solve that situation, we can work with others to solve this one.

Amy Klobuchar: Iraq has devolved into a civil war; get US troops out

KENNEDY: We need to listen to the commanders in the field. If they say we need more troops, than I want to make sure they have more troops.

KLOBUCHAR: Iraq has devolved into a civil war. I believe it’s time to transition to Iraqi authority and let this government run its own country. The way you do this is not by adding more troops, or by saying that we’ll have the same number of troops in 2010. It’s by beginning to bring our troops home, or to redeploy them.

Mark Kennedy: Must focus on victory in Iraq, not on retreat

KENNEDY: The real question is: Are we focusing on victory, and making sure that Iraq doesn’t become a sanctuary for terrorists to regroup and attack America again? Or are we focusing on how to retreat out of there as fast as we can? We’ve made mistakes in Iraq and no one likes war. But we need to understand how detrimental it would be to our security if we did not succeed in Iraq. That’s why I’m very concerned when I hear Ms. Klobuchar say the answer is diplomacy, and that we ought to negotiate. With who? How are you going to negotiate with al Qaeda? How are you going to negotiate with Iranian-sponsored terrorists?

FITZGERALD: This conflict cannot be solved with military action. The conflict needs the withdrawal of our troops immediately.

KLOBUCHAR: I believe it’s time to transition to Iraqi authority and let this government run its own country. The way you do this is not by adding more troops. It’s by beginning to bring our troops home, or to redeploy them.

Mark Kennedy: Listen to military in Iraq, not politicians in Washington

KENNEDY: We need to listen to the commanders in the field. If they say we need more troops, than I want to make sure they have more troops. We ought not to be listening to Washington politicians. We ought to be listening to what the commanders in the field say is important for victory. I have visited Iraq three times, and I called for the Iraq Study Group [for that purpose].

FITZGERALD: I have not had the opportunity to have a taxpayer-funded junket to Iraq, but I have had the opportunity to talk to military families who have said that this is falling solely on their shoulders. This war is being fought with other people’s children, and is being fought with other people’s children’s money. We have borrowed every single dollar that we have sued to fight this war to the tune of $330 billion so far. That’s immoral and irresponsible government.

Robert Fitzgerald: Iraq war being fought with other’s people’s children

KENNEDY: We need to listen to the commanders in the field. If they say we need more troops, than I want to make sure they have more troops. We ought not to be listening to Washington politicians. We ought to be listening to what the commanders in the field say is important for victory. I have visited Iraq three times, and I called for the Iraq Study Group [for that purpose].

FITZGERALD: I have not had the opportunity to have a taxpayer-funded junket to Iraq, but I have had the opportunity to talk to military families who have said that this is falling solely on their shoulders. This war is being fought with other people’s children, and is being fought with other people’s children’s money. We have borrowed every single dollar that we have sued to fight this war to the tune of $330 billion so far. That’s immoral and irresponsible government.

Robert Fitzgerald: Iraq conflict can no longer be solved with military action

KENNEDY: We need to understand how detrimental it would be to our security if we did not succeed in Iraq. That’s why I’m very concerned when I hear Ms. Klobuchar say the answer is diplomacy, and that we ought to negotiate. With who? How are you going to negotiate with al Qaeda? How are you going to negotiate with Iranian-sponsored terrorists?

FITZGERALD: John McCain called for more troops a year-and-a-half ago, and I agreed with him at that time. An opportunity presented itself to quell the violence in Iraq. In the pigheadedness of this administration, they did not heed that call, and that opportunity has since passed. This conflict cannot be solved with military action. The conflict needs the withdrawal of our troops immediately.

KLOBUCHAR: I believe it’s time to transition to Iraqi authority and let this government run its own country. The way you do this is not by adding more troops. It’s by beginning to bring our troops home, or to redeploy them.

Mark Kennedy: Reject “more-of-the-same” in Iraq; favor “adapt-to-win”

The now popular “adapt-to-win” language among Republicans is a phrase that the head of the Republican Party promoting late last summer as an alternative to President’s Bush’s often-repeated “stay the course.”

Robert Fitzgerald: We’re experiencing mission-creep in Iraq

Norm Coleman: Supports strike on Iraq: Saddam is a menace

Mark Dayton: Maintain military & economic aid to Israel at current level