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Newt Gingrich on Homeland Security
Former Republican Representative (GA-6) and Speaker of the House
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Post-9/11, it's terrorism vs. civilization
Post 9/11, Newt Gingrich delivered a speech that imagined a variety of horrors and suggested a simple division of humanity that would influence the prosecution of this war: "The next time it will be a germ agent or gas or a nuclear weapon, we must plan
for a coercive, not a consensual, campaign. There are only two teams on the planet for this war. There is the team that represents civilization, and there is the team that represents terrorism. Just tell us which. There are no neutrals.
Source: The Test of our Times, by Tom Ridge, p. 63
Sep 1, 2009
Be prepared in a very militant and aggressive way
We are not developing national security and homeland security at the margins. This is not about stopping two snipers or three car bombers...or 5 airplanes. We live in a world where if we gamble wrong, and the current proposed defense budget is much
too small, if we gamble wrong whether it is a major power like China or Russia, a medium sized power like North Korea, Pakistan, and Iran, and North Korea is a medium sized power by possession of nuclear weapons.
Or it is a fanatic group willing to die in the process of killing us.˙We live in a world where there are weapons capable of ending civilization as we know it.
And we need to be prepared in a very militant and aggressive way to defend America from having a catastrophic disaster of the first order.
Source: Speech to 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 27, 2009
Gingrich-plus-up: $1B increase in 1990s Pentagon funding
I first began working with the Army Training and Doctrine Command in 1979. Since then I have become the longest-serving teacher in the senior military. In 2003, I was serving on the Defense Policy Board and the Transformation Advisory Group of the Joint
Force Command. Beyond the Pentagon I was known in intelligence community as the only person how had insisted on a billion dollar-plus increase in funding in the 1990s (a point the 9-11 Commission made in its report; it called it the "Gingrich plus-up").
Source: Real Change, by Newt Gingrich, p.108
Dec 18, 2007
Contain nuclear threats:China, Russia, Pakistan, North Korea
Every day, terrorists try to acquire weapons of mass destruction & weapons of mass murder. Iran & North Korea continue to develop their nuclear and other weapons programs. There is constant danger of a coup by radical Islamists in nuclear-armed Pakistan.
And the greatest danger for us in meeting this threat is the weakness of our intelligence services. We do not have any significant intelligence on the enemy’s plans, networks, & troop strength.
Second, we must contain powers that could threaten us,
including China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, & Pakistan--all of which have weapons of mass destruction.
The greatest threat of rogue dictatorships, like Iran or North Korea, is that they will sell weapons of mass destruction. While North
Korea--with nuclear, chemical, & biological weapons--is a big threat to South Korea & Japan, it is a very distant threat to the US. But an Iran or a North Korea willing to sell nuclear and biological weapons to terrorists is very dangerous to America.
Source: Gingrich Communications website, www.newt.org, “Issues”
Sep 1, 2007
1980s: Supported squadron of 132 B-2 stealth bombers
[In the 1980s], at a budget meeting in Newt Gingrich's office, it was not considered good politics to go up against the pro-defense lobby, especially for a Republican. But I didn't think it was good government to keep signing up for these ridiculous
expenditures. Most ridiculous of all, I came to think, was the development of the B-2 stealth bomber. At anywhere from $1 billion to $2 billion per plane, it seemed a colossal misuse of taxpayer monies.
And we weren't talking about just one B-2.
Initially, there was to be a squadron of 132 of these bombers, a number that was whittled down to 75 and eventually to 20, although that figure remained open for discussion.
At one point, Dick Cheney made a deal with me to freeze the number of planes o
order at 20, in exchange for my agreeing to back down in my fight, which Newt Gingrich and company could then take as my grudging support. We even shook hands on it, and yet a year or so later Cheney was out there thumping for 40.
Source: Stand For Something, by John Kasich, p. 92-94
May 23, 2007
Military tribunals to lock people up the way Lincoln did
Q: Specifically, how would you win the war in Iraq militarily?A: 1) You would empower General Petraeus. You’d pass the supplemental immediately. You’d give him the money. 2) You would encourage the Iraqis to triple the size of their regular army.
3) You would encourage the development of a military tribunal system to lock people up the way Abraham Lincoln would’ve done it. 4) You would establish a nationwide ID card with biometrics so you can actually track everybody in the country.
5) You would make sure that the State Department actually staffed the embassy with people in favor of winning the war and you actually had your fully equipped intelligence and economic development teams.
6) Bring enormous pressure to bear on Iran to cut off everything [assisting with the Iraqi insurgency]. So, we ought to do what it takes to win, not tolerate legislating defeat.
Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series
May 20, 2007
Defend America & allies with information policies
We must implement policies that will ensure America’s leadership, safety, and prosperity. To achieve this future we will defend America and our allies from those who would destroy us.
To achieve security, we will develop the intelligence, diplomatic, information, defense, and homeland security systems and resources for success.
Source: Gingrich Communications website, www.newt.org
Dec 1, 2006
Biological threat bigger than nuclear threat
Biological warfare is the largest threat to the human race, a substantially bigger threat than nuclear war. If the US is hit with an engineered biological agent for which no vaccines are available, we are in for problems of colossal proportions.
Biological threats for which we have no rapid diagnostic tests & no drug treatments are so great that we should consider the preparation of a biological defensive system the highest priority in the American national security system and the most important
Vision and strategy designInformation technology investmentVaccinations and immunizationPost-event treatmentCivil defense transformation into a comprehensive 21st cebtury systemBiosecurity and education.
job facing the new DHS. In thinking about weapons of mass destruction, a good rule of thumb is to put 80% of our effort into dealing with biological threats, 19.5% into nuclear threats, and 0.5% into chemical weapons. Six key areas must be addressed:
Source: Saving Lives and Saving Money, by Newt Gingrich, p.275-284
Sep 22, 2003
Wishes he volunteered for Vietnam; exempt due to young kids
By 1966, Vietnam draft calls were increasing, but Newt and Jackie had two young daughters. They earned him a deferment from the draft, but he of course had the option to volunteer. Newt supported the war effort, and not simply because Bob
Gingrich, his step-father, was serving in counterguerilla operations in Vietnam. But, he said once, it would have been irrational for him to volunteer and leave two young daughters behind.Over the years, I've heard Newt
Gingrich say many times that he wishes he had volunteered. Whatever his feelings were in the middle of the 1960s--and if he was like most young men in his age group they changed more than once--Gingrich never was at risk of being inducted.
The accusations of draft-dodging by his political foes ring hollow. And comparisons with Bill Clinton, who was consumed by finding the least politically damaging way to avoid service, are an exercise in apples and oranges.
Source: Newt!, by Dick Williams, p. 78-79
Jun 1, 1995
Women not suitable for combat due to infections
Shortly after becoming Speaker, Gingrich told his college class that women are not suitable for combat because after 30 days in the ditch they are susceptible to infections. It became the firestorm of the week. His parallel comment that men were born to
hunt giraffes was turned into high comedy. But students in his class knew he was exaggerating about male and female traits to make a point: Women have skills that make them better suited for many military specialties other than combat.
Amid the coverage of the comments, it was next to impossible to find a news story on the effects of extended field duty on female combatants. And it was impossible not to hear
Rep. Pat Schroeder lampooning him by suggesting that no men she knew had a desire to hunt giraffes.
"Occasionally you get taken grotesquely out of context, but that's fine," Gingrich said. "It is part of the process of getting the message out."
Source: Newt!, by Dick Williams, p.162
Jun 1, 1995
Co-founded Military Reform Caucus as "cheap hawk solution"
Gingrich went around the House leadership to co-found the Military Reform Caucus, at a time when the huge Reagan defense buildup was under assault. Pentagon procurement scandals were prompting stories about $600 ashtrays and $1,200 toilet seats.
Gingrich developed the "cheap hawk solution": the nuclear age required a quick-response, mobile military; and such a force could be as effective as the Navy, with its expensive aircraft carriers, and the Army, with its huge, heavily armed divisions.
Gingrich allied himself with the analysts who were developing the fast-attack tenets of maneuver warfare called the AirLand Battle Doctrine. The "cheap hawk solution" became an arrow in the Republican quiver, as it staved off Democratic attempts to cut
the Pentagon budget. "Don't try to reform the current system," he said of Pentagon procurement in early 1995. "It is hopeless. It is impossible." The Speaker views many current Pentagon policies as part of the antiquated industrial age.
Source: Newt!, by Dick Williams, p.101
Jun 1, 1995
No US troops under UN command; more defense spending.
Gingrich wrote the Contract with America:
[As part of the Contract with America, within 100 days we pledge to bring to the House Floor the following bill]:
The National Security Restoration Act:
No US troops under UN command, and restoration of the essential parts of our national security funding to strengthen our national defense and maintain our credibility around the world.
Source: Contract with America 93-CWA8 on Sep 27, 1994
Page last updated: May 28, 2011