issues2000

More headlines: Al Gore on Defense

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Invest in technological edge to keep military strong

Source: AlGore2000.com “Briefing Room” May 27, 2000

Even as student at anti-war Harvard, Gore intended to serve

In the summer of 1967, just before the antiwar movement at Harvard intensified, military service was part of Al Gore’s plan. Gore’s cousin recalled a series of conversations in which it sounded like a sure thing. “Never, ever did he indicate to me that he wasn’t going to go in,” the cousin recalled. Gore had no great passion for soldiering, but neither was it in his nature to buck the system.

But as Gore neared graduation, he found himself caught between two nearly irresistible forces: the newly charged moral and political climate at Harvard and a deep sense of obligation to protect his father, whose antiwar position was imperiling his political future in Tennessee. Each wrenched at his conscience.

His Harvard friends remember Gore’s ethical concerns, but they also recall a series of explicit signals from his parents about what needed to be done. “He said if he had my parents, he would have made a different decision,” said one friend. “He was committed to his father’s situation.”

Source: Inventing Al Gore, p. 60-3 Mar 3, 2000

Concluded Vietnam was a mistake, but had valid purpose

In 1988, Gore said that Vietnam “certainly matured me in a hurry. It gave me a tolerance for complexity. I didn’t change my conclusions about the war being a terrible mistake, but it struck me that opponents to the war, including myself, really did not take into account the fact that there were an awful lot of South Vietnamese who desperately wanted to hang onto what they called freedom. Coming face to face with those sentiments [in the local people] was something I was naively unprepared for.”
Source: Inventing Al Gore, p. 87 Mar 3, 2000

Called for replacing MIRVed MX with single-warhead Midgetman

[After a teen audience said most of them believed they would see nuclear war in their lifetime], Gore resolved to become an arms control expert. There was a place in the debate for a moderate voice, he believed, one that bridged the chasm between the emerging “nuclear freeze” movement and the bellicose rhetoric of Ronald Reagan and his Cold Warriors. He studied for more than a year and laid out his thoughts in a Senate floor speech in 1982.

Gore called for the US and USSR to convert all their multiple-warhead missiles to single-warhead. Under Gore’s plan, the superpowers would agree to a freeze on new weaponry while they negotiated a schedule for converting from the huge MX to the Midgetman system. Although he didn’t kill the MX, he managed to limit proliferation of a dangerous weapon (only fifty were finally deployed) and came close to carrying out his vision for the Midgetman.

Source: Inventing Al Gore, p.142-5 & p. 149-50 Mar 3, 2000

Quicker than Clinton to favor force; but avoided it in Haiti

Gore was inherently quicker than Clinton to favor military force as an option. Even before official CIA reports confirmed Saddam Hussein’s involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate former President Bush with a car bomb on a visit to Kuwait City, Gore urged a tense and tentative Clinton to launch a retaliatory cruise missile attack.

Gore’s instincts were the same in the Balkans. At meeting after meeting, Gore argued passionately for bombardment to force the Serbs to the peace table [regarding Bosnia]. He and Clinton were not together on the issue. But after the administration was unable to persuade European allies to join them, even Gore stood down.

His impulses weren’t unswervingly hawkish, however, and he brought a willingness to think outside of the box to solve problems. He was the administration’s most consistently vocal supporter of former president Jimmy Carter’s intervention into the diplomatic crises in North Korea and Haiti. Both ended successfully.

Source: Inventing Al Gore, p.275-6 Mar 3, 2000

Stay engaged with Russia over nuclear disarmament

Russia has 20,000 nuclear warheads. They may not be aimed at the US, because they’re detargeted now, but within two seconds those targets could be re-programmed. As long as they have that kind of arsenal, [I support] programs designed to dismantle their warheads, to help them move toward a reduction in military force. The movement toward democracy and free markets in Russia may not have been as rapid as we would like, but the movement to reduce the [nuclear] threat overall has been a good thing.
Source: Democrat Debate in Manchester NH Jan 26, 2000

Led efforts to reduce nuclear weaponry & arms race

Gore has led efforts to reduce weapons of mass destruction. In a 1980 meeting in his home state of Tennessee, then-Congressman Gore asked a gathering of students how many expected to see nuclear war in their lifetimes. He was stunned to see nearly every hand in the room rise. Gore returned to Washington and began an intensive study of every aspect of arms control-becoming a Congressional leader on the subject. Two years later, Congressman Gore advanced a new idea for bringing new stability to the US-Soviet nuclear arms race: deterring a first strike by moving from multi-warhead missiles to single-warhead missiles on both sides in a phased “build-down.”
Source: Gore campaign statement on election2000.aol.com Jan 1, 2000

20-year history of supporting comprehensive arms control

For Gore, the nuclear arms control issue is one in which he has been involved for the past two decades, in both the House and the Senate. In Congress, Gore put forth a comprehensive arms control proposal in the 1980s and he co-chaired the US-Russia bilateral commission, which oversaw a program to deactivate 2,500 Russian nuclear missiles pointed at the US.
Source: Boston Globe, p. A5 Oct 15, 1999

Voted for B2 & Seawolf

Source: Project Vote Smart -- Voting Record Sep 18, 1992

Disparaging military sends wrong message to world

Gore today rebutted Republican charges that the readiness and morale of the armed forces had declined during the Clinton administration. “It’s that year-after-year commitment to a strong American defense that makes me so concerned when others try to run down America’s military for political advantage in an election year. That’s not only wrong in fact, it’s the wrong message to send to our allies and adversaries across the world.”
Source: Kevin Sack, NY Times Aug 23, 2000

Classic security agenda: pay troops; build best military

[Gore would continue what he calls] “the classic security agenda.” Gore says, “America must have a military capability that is second to none.” Gore committed that he would invest the necessary resources to ensure our troops are adequately paid and our weapons systems continue to be upgraded. Gore pledged to build upon our key alliances and to be prepared to selectively engage in conflicts where America’s national interests are at stake.
Source: Press Release on speech in Boston Apr 30, 2000

Eliminate “Don’t ask, don’t tell” quickly

As president, Al Gore would move expeditiously to eliminate the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy by urging Congress to let gays serve openly in uniform. “We’re in a posture which makes it impossible for very good people to serve without living in fear that something private about themselves will be divulged and held against them,” Gore’s national security adviser said yesterday. Homosexuals are barred by law from serving in the military. Only by keeping their sexual orientation secret and not engaging in any homosexual acts can they serve in uniform, under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. [This statement] did not modify Gore’s position, but the aide signaled the vice president’s intention to make action on the issue an early order of business should he win the White House. Gore’s position is at odds with that of Pentagon officials, who say “don’t ask, don’t tell” is working and unveiled new training regulations on the policy last month.
Source: Tom Bowman, Sun National Staff Mar 23, 2000

Commit troops only if diplomacy fails and if it’s winnable

Q: When should US troops be used in international military operations?
Source: Democrat Debate in Johnston Iowa Jan 8, 2000

Bush’s SDI is a risky foreign policy scheme

Bush says he would build and deploy a global Star Wars system that he believes could defend the US and all our allies against any missile launch from any source. In the 1990s, most serious analysts took a look at the implausibility of this endeavor, the fantastical price, and the dangerously destabilizing consequences of traveling down that path, and rejected this notion. Bush wishes to return to it, and chose the worst possible venue in which to launch his risky foreign policy scheme.
Source: Press release of speech notes Apr 30, 2000

Against SDI & more carriers; for Grenada & nuclear freeze

[In the 1988 presidential campaign, Gore debated sharply with six other Democratic contenders] over the proposed “Star Wars” defensive shield, which Gore opposed. [A reporter at the time] called it his “one moment of passion.”

Gore searched for ways to differentiate himself from the Democratic pack: as Al Gore, national security candidate, the only one willing to use force to protect America’s vital interests. He was a recognized player in he arms control debate and collaborated with the Reagan White House on the MX missile compromise. [He pointed out that he] had supported the Grenada invasion and the flagging of Kuwaiti tankers in the Persian Gulf and opposed a ban on ballistic missile test flights.

But on major defense issues Gore was solidly in the Democratic mainstream. He had supported the nuclear freeze and sharp limits on Star Wars spending, opposed funds for two new aircraft carriers and, until the campaign, most aid to the Nicaraguan contras.

Source: Inventing Al Gore, p.194 Mar 3, 2000

Led effort to dismantle post-Soviet nukes

As Vice President, Gore has led important arms reduction efforts around the world - including the dismantling of Kazakhstan’s nuclear arsenal, the third largest in the former Soviet Union; negotiating Ukraine’s decision to give up all its nuclear weapons; and a deal with Russia and Kazakhstan to keep more than half a ton of bomb-grade uranium from falling into the hands of terrorists.
Source: Gore campaign statement on election2000.aol.com Jan 1, 2000

Supported 1980’s “build-down” of nuclear missiles

In a 1980 meeting in his home state of Tennessee, then-Congressman Gore asked a gathering of students how many expected to see nuclear war in their lifetimes. He was stunned to see nearly every hand in the room rise. Two years later, Congressman Gore advanced a new idea for bringing new stability to the U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms race: deterring a first strike by moving from multi-warhead missiles to single-warhead missiles on both sides in a phased “build-down.”
Source: www.AlGore2000.com/issues/fp.html 5/16/99 May 16, 1999

Led dismantling of post-Soviet “loose nukes”

Gore has led important arms reduction efforts around the world,including:
  • the dismantling of Kazakhstan’s nuclear arsenal, the 3rd largest in the former Soviet Union
  • negotiating Ukraine’s decision to give up all its nuclear weapons
  • and a deal with Russia and Kazakhstan to keep more than half a ton of bomb-grade uranium from falling into the hands of terrorists.Al Gore has led Clinton Administration efforts to prevent and combat terrorism, to protect American families and communities.
    Source: www.AlGore2000.com/issues/fp.html 5/16/99 May 16, 1999

    Nuclear plan: no SDI; fewer missiles; less production