Republican nominee for President; Senior Senator (AZ):
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- We're in an Afghan stalemate & a Russian EU destruction. (Mar 2017)
- Putin is a thug; Russia understands only our strength. (Mar 2017)
- Mandate a three-part process to start war. (Jan 2015)
- Putin in Crimea: it's delusional to think Cold War is over. (Mar 2014)
- Chief Senate proponent of military intervention in Syria. (Jun 2013)
- 2007: No guarantee with surge; but no surge surely fails. (Nov 2010)
- Obama "an uncertain trumpet" for Afghan & Iraqi withdrawal. (Nov 2010)
- 2008: No one has supported Bush in Iraq more than I have. (Oct 2010)
- Bush mismanaged Iraq; until the surge. (Jan 2010)
- McCain Doctrine: when we go to war, complete the mission. (Aug 2009)
- Proudest moment: opposing Reagan on Lebanon deployment. (Mar 2008)
- Consistent opponent of involving US in civil wars abroad. (Oct 2007)
- 1983: Questioned US military presence in Lebanon. (Oct 2007)
- 1999: Kosovo: We are in it; now we must win it. (Sep 2007)
- 2000: Air bombing in Kosovo was immoral: it "wins ugly". (Feb 2003)
Global War on Terror
- In Afghanistan, employ same winning strategy as in Iraq. (Sep 2008)
- Don’t threaten Pakistan; it’s part of Afghan strategy. (Sep 2008)
- We face transcendent evil of radical Islamic extremism. (Sep 2008)
- Since 1998, championed policy of “rogue-state rollback”. (Oct 2007)
- Follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell. (May 2007)
- Prefers not to take troops out of Afghanistan. (Jan 2007)
- The War on Terror is the overriding and transcendent issue. (Oct 2004)
- The War on Terror is a fight between good and evil. (Aug 2004)
- The War on Terror a war we must fight. (Aug 2004)
- Avoiding the War on Terror has cost us dearly. (Aug 2004)
- Bush promised enemies would soon hear from us and they did. (Aug 2004)
- Our adversaries express a hatred for all good in humanity. (Aug 2004)
- 2000: Warned against radical Islamic terrorism. (May 2002)
- 2001: No pinprick responses to 9/11; it’s a long haul. (May 2002)
- 2001: Nuclear weapons unnecessary against terrorists. (May 2002)
- Palestine: Against declaration of statehood. (Feb 1999)
Iran
- Don’t wait for UN if Iran attacks Israel. (Oct 2008)
- FactCheck: Obama did declare Republican Guard terrorists. (Sep 2008)
- Strategic bombing of Iran OK only if imminent threat. (Dec 2007)
- Congress can only declare war; not micromanage wars. (Dec 2007)
- Keep military option open against Iran, even if no nukes. (Dec 2007)
- No direct talk with Iran; talk is over-rated. (Dec 2007)
- Iran & Syria must not get nukes; they’ll exterminate Israel. (Nov 2007)
- Iran is state sponsor of terrorism; no more evidence needed. (Nov 2007)
- Congressional consultation before attacking Iran’s nukes. (Oct 2007)
- Sanctions to prevent Iranian nukes; but don’t count on UN. (Sep 2007)
- Iran is sponsor of terrorism; US strike if they get nukes. (May 2007)
Iraq War
- 2007: Visited Iraq with Lieberman; led to endorsement. (Jan 2010)
- No Surrender Tour: Stop Democrats from Iraqi withdrawal. (Jan 2010)
- 2006: No good options in Iraq, but we can't afford to lose. (Aug 2009)
- Waving a white flag in Iraq will cause chaos and genocide. (Aug 2009)
- 2004: Iraq War was "necessary, achievable, and noble". (Aug 2009)
- Biden’s plan to partition Iraq was a cockamamie idea. (Oct 2008)
- FactCheck: Biden’s plan decentralized Iraq; not 3 countries. (Oct 2008)
- Bring our troops home with victory and with honor. (Oct 2008)
- 2007: Encouraging signs of normalcy in Iraq. (Oct 2008)
- FactCheck: Bush vetoed troop bill that Obama voted against. (Sep 2008)
- We now have a great strategy & are winning in Iraq. (Sep 2008)
- The next president has to decide how and when to leave Iraq. (Sep 2008)
- FactCheck: Admiral did not call Obama’s plan dangerous. (Sep 2008)
- Obama would lose a war to win a political campaign. (Sep 2008)
- Quoting “100 years in Iraq” is out-of-context. (Apr 2008)
- Despite deserters & Basra loss, Iraqi military doing better. (Apr 2008)
- 1998: Remove Saddam by force without UN approval. (Mar 2008)
- Costs will be far greater should we fail in Iraq. (Feb 2008)
- Not a matter of how long in Iraq, but a matter of casualties. (Feb 2008)
- Don’t let enemy lay in the weeds until we leave. (Jan 2008)
- Support the surge and bring troops home with honor. (Jan 2008)
- Timetable for withdrawal is a white flag of surrender. (Jan 2008)
- Staying for 100 years OK, if US casualties are low. (Jan 2008)
- The Iraq war was worth the price in blood and treasure. (Jan 2008)
- Ok with American presence in Iraq for 100 years. (Jan 2008)
- FactCheck: Yes, criticized Rumsfeld, but not before invasion. (Jan 2008)
- Help Maliki government move forward as rapidly as possible. (Nov 2007)
- I would much rather lose a campaign than lose a war. (Oct 2007)
- Stategy in Iraq: defeat al-Qaeda; limit Iran’s influence. (Sep 2007)
- Iraq is now the central front in the war against al-Qaeda. (Sep 2007)
- Americans want to win; bin Laden thinks he’s winning now. (Sep 2007)
- Democrats proposing failure in Iraq by withdrawing. (Sep 2007)
- Reducing military presence has never in history won a war. (Sep 2007)
- Bring troops home the right way: home with honor. (Sep 2007)
- Surge is working; let it continue until it succeeds. (Sep 2007)
- Tragic mistake of Iraq: no plan to deal with success. (Aug 2007)
- Support the surge even if benchmarks are not met. (Aug 2007)
- Did not read NIE before war vote, but was fully briefed. (Jun 2007)
- If new strategy not working by Sept., we still must succeed. (Jun 2007)
- Willing to be last man standing for US involvement in Iraq. (May 2007)
- Consequences of failure: regional chaos & we must come back. (May 2007)
- In hindsight, Iraq invasion was still justified. (May 2007)
- Timetable would be catastrophe, even if Iraq wants it. (May 2007)
- Advocated leaving Somalia, but no comparison to Iraq. (May 2007)
- War has been mismanaged, but we are now on the right track. (May 2007)
- War in Iraq has not gone well: dire but not hopeless. (Mar 2007)
- Al Qaeda may take over Iraqi oilwells. (Mar 2007)
- Prefers more troops for surge, but 20,000 is sufficient. (Jan 2007)
- Bush now has the right strategy, and it’s our last chance. (Jan 2007)
- Generals advising “no more troops” was a failed policy. (Jan 2007)
- McCain Principle: Committing troops means completing mission. (Jan 2007)
- If we leave Iraq, terrorists will follow us home. (Jan 2007)
- Send in a heavy wave of troops to Iraq to establish order. (Nov 2006)
- Looting, terrorism in Iraq a result of US mistakes. (Sep 2004)
- The Iraqi war was necessary after years of failed diplomacy. (Aug 2004)
- Saddam would have acquired terrible weapons again. (Aug 2004)
- The Iraqi war was necessary, achievable and noble. (Aug 2004)
- The cause of the Iraqi war was just. (Apr 2004)
- 1991: Urged formally declaring war on Iraq over Kuwait. (Jan 2004)
Vietnam
- OpEd: As war pilot, no remorse for dropping bombs on Hanoi. (Nov 2008)
- Vietnam's greatest injustice: burden of service on the poor. (Sep 2007)
- 1967: POW son of admiral was propaganda coup for N. Vietnam. (Sep 2000)
- 1966: Part of no-win situation in Operation Rolling Thunder. (Sep 2000)
- 1967: Survived USS Forrestal fire that killed over 100. (Sep 2000)
- 1967: Shot down on first mission over central Hanoi. (Sep 2000)
- 1967:Refused making propaganda film in exchange for medicine. (Sep 2000)
- 1968: Under torture, wrote coerced "confession". (Sep 2000)
- Silent about origins & necessity of Vietnam. (Sep 2000)
Voting Record
- Congress has no authority to cut off funds for Iraqi use. (Jan 2007)
- Voted NO on redeploying non-essential US troops out of Iraq in 9 months. (Dec 2007)
- Voted NO on redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007. (Jun 2006)
- Voted NO on investigating contract awards in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Nov 2005)
- Voted YES on requiring on-budget funding for Iraq, not emergency funding. (Apr 2005)
- Voted YES on $86 billion for military operations in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Oct 2003)
- Voted YES on authorizing use of military force against Iraq. (Oct 2002)
- Voted NO on allowing all necessary force in Kosovo. (May 1999)
- Voted YES on authorizing air strikes in Kosovo. (Mar 1999)
- Voted YES on ending the Bosnian arms embargo. (Jul 1995)
- Supports $48 billion in new spending for anti-terrorism. (Jan 2002)
- CIA assessments ib Iraqi WMDs were all wrong. (Mar 2005)
- Belief in Iraqi nukes was poor analysis of aluminum tubes. (Mar 2005)
- Belief in Iraqi BWs was based on one unreliable person. (Mar 2005)
- Belief in Iraqi CWs was based on flawed imagery. (Mar 2005)
- Iraq never had delivery systems to attack US mainland. (Mar 2005)
- CIA never questioned assumption that Saddam had WMDs. (Mar 2005)
- Conclusions on Iran and North Korea are all classified. (Mar 2005)
- Iranian nuclear weapons: prevention instead of containment. (May 2012)
- Iran must accept long-term intrusive nuke inspection. (Mar 2014)
- No nuclear deal with Iran without Congressional input. (Mar 2015)
- Support the completion of the US mission in Iraq. (Feb 2007)
- Sanctions on Iran to end nuclear program. (Apr 2009)
- Move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. (Nov 1995)
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