Topics in the News: Sovereignty
Sarah Palin on Free Trade
: Nov 17, 2009
Bothered by China's bid to control Alaska gasline
The competitive bidding process we created with AGIA [Alaska's 1,715-mile gasline] threw open Alaska's doors to free enterprise. Suddenly, even other nations were bidding. We had anticipated Canadian interest but were surprised to receive a proposal from
China. The bid, by Sinopec, bothered me. There was little doubt the company could muster the manpower, technology, and funding necessary to do the job, but this proposal skated on the razor's edge between the free market and national sovereignty. An
energy-thirsty Communist nation controlling Alaska's natural gas reserves was not in the best interest of the state or our country. It turned out Sinopec's application was incomplete anyway, and was rejected for that reason.The Calgary-based pipeline
building giant TransCanada-Alaska had not only met every enforceable requirement, but exceeded them. We were ecstatic.
In Aug. 2008, we awarded the AGIA license. We had turned the idea of commercializing our natural gas from pipe dream to pipeline.
Click for Sarah Palin on other issues.
Source: Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin, p.205-207
Barack Obama on War & Peace
: Oct 7, 2008
More aid to Pakistan; but pursue bin Laden over their border
Q: Should the US respect Pakistani sovereignty and not pursue al Qaeda terrorists who maintain bases there?OBAMA: We have a difficult situation in Pakistan. I believe that part of the reason we have a difficult situation is because we made a bad
judgment going into Iraq, when we hadn’t finished the job of hunting down bin Laden and crushing al Qaeda.
We have to change our policies with Pakistan. We can’t coddle, as we did, a dictator, give him billions of dollars and then he’s making peace
treaties with the Taliban and militants. We’re going to encourage democracy in Pakistan, expand our nonmilitary aid to Pakistan so that they have more of a stake in working with us, but insisting that they go after these militants.
And if we have Osama
bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act & we will take them out. We will kill bin Laden; we will crush Al Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 second presidential debate against John McCain
Sarah Palin on War & Peace
: Sep 11, 2008
Russia’s invading Georgia, unprovoked, is unacceptable
Q: Let me ask you about some specific national security situations The administration has said we’ve got to maintain the territorial integrity of Georgia. Do you believe the US should try to restore Georgian sovereignty over South Ossetia and Abkhazia?Q: You believe it was unprovoked?
A: I do believe unprovoked and we have got to keep our eyes on Russia, under the leadership there.
Click for Sarah Palin on other issues.
Source: ABC News: 2008 election interview with Charlie Gibson
Ron Paul on Free Trade
: Apr 1, 2008
Free trade agreements threaten national sovereignty
I opposed both the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization, both of which were heavily favored by the political establishment. Many supporters of the free trade market supported these agreements.
Nearly six decades ago when the International Trade Organization was up for debate, conservatives and libertarians agreed that supranational trade bureaucracies with the power to infringe upon American sovereignty were undesirable.
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Source: The Revolution: A Manifesto, by Ron Paul, p. 96
Mike Huckabee on Foreign Policy
: Feb 7, 2008
Impeach judges who yield on our sovereignty
We should make sure that we never, for any circumstance, under any purpose, ever yield one ounce of our sovereignty over to some international tribunal.That’s why we need to fight against the Law of the Sea Treaty, and make sure that it gets a good
burial at sea. That’s why we should say ‘No’ to Kyoto, because it’s not giving over our sovereignty.
And it’s why whenever a judge invokes any international law as the basis for making a decision, he should be summarily impeached for having done so.
Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Sarah Palin on Energy & Oil
: Jan 15, 2008
Gas pipelines are approved if they meet Alaska’s needs
An example of our self-determination is our natural gas pipeline vehicle: AGIA. AGIA’s competitive process is built on Alaska’s “must-haves.” Finally we will have an “open access” gasline so new explorers can produce new reserves, providing in-state use
of our gas and careers for Alaskans. Without AGIA’s requirements, we’d be leveraged by a small group of companies. We can’t surrender revenue, judicial process and our sovereignty. A respected pipeline construction company,
TransCanada, submitted a proposal that meets all of Alaska’s requirements. AGIA cleared the path for our gas to feed hungry local markets and to help secure the country with a safe, stable, and domestic supply of clean energy.
An AGIA license gets the ball rolling on our terms--and opens the door to innovative and strategic partnerships. We are reasonable and open to those partnerships that, at the end of the day, will get that long-awaited gas line built.
Click for Sarah Palin on other issues.
Source: 2008 State of the State Address to 25th Alaska Legislature
Mike Huckabee on Foreign Policy
: Jan 1, 2008
Law of the Sea Treaty surrenders our sovereignty
My administration will never surrender any of our sovereignty, which is why I was the first presidential candidate to oppose ratification of the
Law of the Sea Treaty, which would endanger both our national security and our economic interests.
Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.
Source: America’s Priorities in the War on Terror: Foreign Affairs
Ron Paul on Foreign Policy
: Dec 23, 2007
Cut off all foreign aid to Israel & to Arabs
Q: Would you cut off all foreign aid to Israel? A: Absolutely. But remember, the Arabs would get cut off, too, and the Arabs get three times as much aid altogether than Israel. But why make Israel so dependent? Why do they give up their sovereignty?
They can’t defend their borders without coming to us. If they want a peace treaty, they have to ask us permission. We interfere when the Arab League makes overtures to them. So I would say that we’ve made them second class citizens.
Click for Ron Paul on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series
Mike Huckabee on Foreign Policy
: Dec 9, 2007
Protect US sovereignty, but earn respect abroad
I don’t want to ever give up one ounce of US sovereignty. Our soldiers would never march to the orders of somebody else’s generals. I wouldn’t give up our territory. I wouldn’t give up our rights. I wouldn’t give up our strength.In fact,
I’d want to strengthen this country. I think the greatest way to export democracy is not to force it, but rather to build the best possible version of it right here so people are attracted to it.
There is an important role that the
United States has as the most powerful nation on earth militarily and economically, to act in such a way that people respect us and that people also realize that we are a great nation, not one that wants to push ourselves on others.
One of the things that I would do as president is clearly try to make sure we get some better intelligence-gathering, and that we have more consistency, and that we have intelligence with greater credibility than we obviously have now.
Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.
Source: Fox News Sunday: 2007 “Choosing the President” interviews
Mike Huckabee on Foreign Policy
: Oct 21, 2007
Law of the Sea Treaty gives away our sovereignty
There’s nothing funny about Hillary Clinton being president. Let me tell you why. If she’s president, taxes go up, health care becomes the domain of the government, spending goes out of control, our military loses its morale, and
I’m not sure we’ll have the courage and the will and the resolve to fight the greatest threat this country’s ever faced in Islamofascism. We’ll sign crazy bills like the Law of the Sea Treaty and give away our sovereignty.
Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.
Source: 2007 GOP primary debate in Orlando, Florida
Mike Huckabee on Free Trade
: Sep 17, 2007
This country can never yield its sovereignty for any reason
Q: Will you abolish all plans to promote economic integration of the North American Union?A: I believe with all my heart is that this country can never, ever, ever yield its sovereignty to any other country for any reason, under any circumstance, ever
That’s why I would agree that we not only need closed and secure borders, but more importantly, we need a re-understanding that we are a sovereign nation, and we do not yield ourselves over.
Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.
Source: 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate
Barack Obama on Homeland Security
: Jan 6, 2006
Going after Al Qaeda in Pakistan is not Bush-style invasion
Q: You stand by your statement that you would go into western Pakistan if you had actionable intelligence to go after al Qaeda, whether or not the Pakistani government agreed. Isn’t that essentially the Bush doctrine?
We can attack if we want to, no matter the sovereignty of the Pakistanis?A: No, that is not the same thing, because here we have a situation where Al Qaida, a sworn enemy of the
United States, that killed 3,000 Americans and is currently plotting to do the same, is in the territory of Pakistan. We know that. And this is not speculation. This is not a situation where we anticipate a possible threat in the future.
And my job as commander in chief will be to make sure that we strike anybody who would do America harm when we have actionable intelligence do to that.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic primary debate
Ron Paul on Foreign Policy
: Feb 26, 2003
UN membership leads to impractical military conflicts
I have argued for years against membership in the UN because it compromises our sovereignty. The US has always been expected to pay an unfair percentage of UN expenses. I content that membership in the
UN has led to impractical military conflicts that were highly costly in both lives and dollars, and that were rarely resolved.Over 58 years in
Korea have seen 33,000 lives lost, 100,000 casualties, and over a trillion dollars spent. Korea is the most outrageous example of our fighting a
UN war without declaration from Congress. And where are we today? On the verge of a nuclear confrontation with a North Korean regime nearly out of control.
Click for Ron Paul on other issues.
Source: House speech, in Foreign Policy of Freedom, p.248-249
Page last updated: Aug 11, 2011