Posted on 11/12/2011 9:26:02 AM PST by CaroleL
The focus of tonight's GOP presidential debate in Spartanburg, South Carolina will be foreign policy and national security. In preparation, the mainstream media is asking the obvious questions: Will Rick Perry "step in it" again? Does Herman Cain know who the president of "Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan" is? How many times will Jon Huntsman remind the audience he has lived overseas? But the more important (and interesting) question that could be answered tonight is: Can former Senator Rick Santorum turn his eight years on the Senate Armed Services Committee and his real world foreign policy experience into serious consideration from Republican primary voters?
(Excerpt) Read more at talkingsides.com ...
I admire Rick Santorum. He would make a great VP!
Here’s a little of what Cain had to say about the Dept of Defense.
“Here’s why I want to be in a position where I can make a difference.”
1) I don’t want the priority to be on cutting. I want it to be on investing, and 2) I want to upgrade our … ballistic missile defense capable Aegis warships. And I would want to double that fleet. … So, I want to build our military and not tear it down.
“That would be the one that I could be excited about to help the generals and the commanders on the ground to get what they need to do what they do best – and that is to kick the you-know-what out of everybody in the world if something breaks out in other parts of the world.”
Savage said members of the military would “get a tingle up their spine” because they would love Cain, and he would “inspire confidence in the troops.”
First off, why? Secondly how are we paying for something that no one else thinks we need? This sounded to me like some phoney talking point Cain threw out there to sound intelligent on the subject.
Advice to Rick Perry:
DO NOT, under any circumstances, attempt to name a foreign country or foreign leader. You will almost certainly be wrong.
Your answer to every question: “I will work with our allies to achieve the best possible outcome, but more importantly, I will grow our economy so everyone wins. Back in Texas we created more jobs....” (you know the rest)
Shallow and repetitive? Absolutely, but at this point you’re just trying to cauterize the gushing wound that is your candidacy.
What do you want to do, reduce our military? I would guess that some of it would get paid for this way.
More from Cain:
I would do an across-the-board cut of 10 percent of every agency, except for Defense. I would review that to see if we’ve got the right priorities. Then each of my new Cabinet heads, I would then ask them to find another 10 percent by doing a deep dive. You have to go into each department and find programs that are outdated, obsolete, a conflict with some of our other programs. Once we do that, some departments may be totally gone. But I don’t want to make that judgment without looking down in the belly of each one of these.”
He said he expects his administration would cut costs by at least 20 percent in his first year “because we’re going to go at it the same way a businessman would go about cutting costs.”
“Let’s put every program on the table,” Cain said. “What are the cost-benefits of this program? If those cost-benefits do not justify themselves, it is gone.”
If elected president, Cain also said he would “bring about an attitude adjustment with the United Nations,” refusing to compromise the nation’s sovereignty under any circumstances. He would also work on legislation to “throw out the tax code” and pass his 9-9-9 plan.
“A Herman Cain presidency would first restore pride in being part of the greatest nation in the world,” he said. “A Herman Cain presidency would put ‘united’ back in United States of America. … I will never be one to apologize for the greatness of this country.”
Why, is he going to tell us how he has done so many great things.
Aegis provides a sea-based defense shield. Maybe he has IRAN on his mind.
Santorum sure why not.
Huntsman, Paul, Romney. No thanks if i can avoid it.
On foreign policy Newt will rule.
Yes, he will!!!
Iran's attempt to get nukes and missiles to delver them.
So what do we do? Invade a 4th country? Ignore it? Start a covert war with Iran? Help the Gulf Arabs and the Israelis get nukes too?
OR Do we make forceful clear statesmen, as Cain would, that any attack on Israel will be viewed as an attack on the USA. Then we do as Cains says an build up our system of naval warships (i.e the Aegis ships Cain is talking about) that have the ability to knock down any Iranian missiles in flight thus giving our side an ability to neutralize the Iranian threat and protect our interests, without starting yet another war or future destabilizing the region.
Cain is the only one who looked at the real problem with Iran and said “here are the solutions”.
His notion is to start a covert war with Iran. We cannot afford a 4th war.
What is the most pressing foreign policy issue of our day?
Iran's attempt to get nukes and missiles to delver them.
So what do we do? Invade a 4th country? Ignore it? Start a covert war with Iran? Help the Gulf Arabs and the Israelis get nukes too?
OR Do we make forceful clear statement, as Cain would, that any attack on Israel will be viewed as an attack on the USA.
Then we do back up that statement, as Cain says, an build up our system of naval warships (i.e the Aegis ships Cain is talking about) that have the ability to knock down any Iranian missiles in flight thus giving our side an ability to neutralize the Iranian threat and protect our regional interests, without starting yet another war or adding to the destabilizing the region.
Cain is the only one who looked at the real problem with Iran and said “here are the solution"
When I first heard him speak of it, he did mention Iran. :)
Here’s more from Cain.
If you mess with Israel, you’re messing with the US
Q: What do you think about the Palestinian Authority bringing their bid for statehood to the United Nations?
CAIN: It starts with an extension of the Reagan philosophy of peace through strength. My philosophy would extend that to peace through strength and clarity. This administration has not made it clear how it stands with Israel. When I was in Israel last month, the deputy prime minister made it shockingly, chillingly clear that, given everything that’s going on, that Israel will defend itself. I would also make it clear to all of the other people in the world, that if you mess with Israel, you’re messing with the United States of America. We will stand solidly behind Israel. If in fact it was clear to the Palestinians, where the US stood, they might have had second thoughts about trying to pull such a move without negotiating with Israel.
Source: 2011 GOP Google debate in Orlando FL , Sep 22, 2011
Foreign policy should include bombs & bullets AND economics
Q: You said in June, “The way you stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is for us to get serious about a real energy-independent strategy.” Do you really think that more domestic oil production in this country is going to convince the mullahs in Tehran not to pursue a nuclear weapon?
A: I believe that our energy strategy is directly related to national security, as well as stopping Iran in their efforts. The head of Iran has said that he wants to wipe Israel off of the face of the Earth. I take that seriously. That being said, there’s more to foreign policy than bombs and bullets. There’s bombs and bullets and economics. If we maximize all of our energy resources in this country, we can become a player on the world market. As the price o oil goes down, it puts an economic squeeze on Iran. This is why I believe we should have a serious energy-independent strategy. That’s what I meant by using our energy resources, not just oil, but all of our resources to become energy independent.
Source: Iowa Straw Poll 2011 GOP debate in Ames Iowa , Aug 11, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRFaUIPWkF4
the above is short but pretty good
Then there is this article from Oct.
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/16/news/la-pn-cain-foreign-policy-20111016
“People say to me, ‘How will you contain Iran?’” said Cain. “Sanctions aren’t working. The U.S. has warships equipped with ballistic missile defense capability. We’re going to strategically place them in the right parts of the world, and then just wait for somebody to attack our friends or try to attack us.”
By the middle of the month we will have no one left.
You may not like it, but you are going to get Romney shoved up your craw.
Yea rah!
Cain already said when asked about Iran that he would place Aegeis-class ships in the area and if they (Iran) would chose to do something, they will pay a heavy price. In fact I believe the quote was “make my day.”
While he has some faults, I find the common sense approach in language that the average American can understand refreshing.
I would like to see Cain as President, Newt(if he quits backstabbing) as VP, Bolton as Sec of State.
That line-up would certainly cause the libtards heads to explode.
Santorum is treading water right now.
If he wants to jump start his campaign, he should go after the Leftwing media, esp. the Leftwing media giant CBS that is hosting this event.
CBS employee campaign contributions, 2008: Obama 259, McCain 12.
Just a suggestion....
Herman Cain scares the ENTIRE establishment. Those slush funds come to a halt real fast. Both sides get whacked. Expect a smear campaign like no other if he stays close.
He explained himself on this just fine. Some folks just want to paint him as an idiot.
He is very smart and funny to boot.
Yes I know I was a bit unkind to her, yes I know she was a government employee for the IRS...
So outside of her role in her husbands for profit “Christian”
counseling centers she has never worked for anybody other than the government.
I have trouble with anybody selling Christian help, Christian counseling is free, so to me it`s just another red flag
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