State of New Hampshire Archives: on Homeland Security

Derek Dextraze: Expand the military; it is just getting to small for me

A: Strongly Support - It is just getting to small for me.

Donald Trump: Bring back waterboarding and a hell of a lot worse

CRUZ: Well, under the definition of torture, no, it's not.

Q: As president, would you bring it back?

CRUZ: I would not bring it back in any sort of widespread use.

Q: Mr. Trump, you said not only does torture work, but that you'd bring it back.

TRUMP: In the Middle East, we have people chopping the heads off Christians. We have things that we have never seen before. Not since medieval times have people seen what's going on. I would bring back waterboarding and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding.

Q: Gov. Bush, Congress has passed laws banning the use of waterboarding by the military and the CIA. Would you want Congress to change that if you're elected president?

BUSH: No, I wouldn't. I think where we stand is the appropriate place. But what we need to do is to make sure that we expand our intelligence capabilities.

Jeb Bush: Closing Guantanamo is a complete disaster; it keeps us safe

BUSH: No, I wouldn't. I think where we stand is the appropriate place. But what we need to do is to make sure that we expand our intelligence capabilities. The idea that we're going to solve this fight with predator drones, killing people somehow is more acceptable than capturing them, securing the information. This is why closing Guantanamo is a complete disaster. What we need to do is make sure that we are kept safe by having intelligence capabilities, both human and technological intelligence capabilities far superior than what we have today. That's how you get a more safe place is by making sure that we're fully engaged. And right now, this administration doesn't do that.

RUBIO: The bigger problem is we're not interrogating anybody right now. Guantanamo's being emptied by this president. We should be putting people into Guantanamo, not emptying it out,

Ted Cruz: Waterboarding isn't torture; but not for low-level officers

CRUZ: Well, under the definition of torture, no, it's not. Under the law, torture is excruciating pain that is equivalent to losing organs and systems, so under the definition of torture, it is not. It is enhanced interrogation, it is vigorous interrogation, but it does not meet the generally recognized definition of torture.

Q: As president, would you bring it back?

CRUZ: I would not bring it back in any sort of widespread use. And indeed, I joined with Senator McCain in legislation that would prohibit line officers from employing it because I think bad things happen when enhanced interrogation is employed at lower levels. But when it comes to keeping this country safe, if it were necessary to, say, prevent a city from facing an imminent terrorist attack, you can rest assured that I would use whatever enhanced interrogation methods we could.

Hillary Clinton: Keep Syrian refugees; we're a nation of resolve, not of fear

CLINTON: Well, I agree that we have to have the toughest screening and vetting.

Q: But a halt?

CLINTON: I don't think a halt is necessary. Now, [screening and vetting] takes 18 to 24 months. So everything that can be done should be done. But the process should move forward while we are also taking on ISIS. I do believe that we have a history and a tradition, that is part of our values system and we don't want to sacrifice our values. We don't want to make it seem as though we are turning into a nation of fear instead of a nation of resolve. I would prioritize widows, and orphans, and the elderly, people who may have relatives, families, or have nowhere else to go. I would prioritize them.

Hillary Clinton: Reach out to Muslims, like George W. Bush did

Hillary Clinton: Libyans refused much of what US offered as help

Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: No, ISIL doesn't cite Trump in recruitment videos

We checked, and it is not. ABC News reports that neither the White House nor National Security Council would back up Clinton's assertion.

According to Business Insider, "The Clinton campaign has since˙backpedaled slightly on its candidate's˙comments.˙A campaign˙spokesman˙pointed˙to a comment from˙an expert on ISIS propaganda that ISIS˙follows 'everything Donald Trump says' and˙points to Trump's˙proposed Muslim ban as proof that America hates Muslims. Clinton 'didn't have a particular video in mind' when she made the comment, said another campaign spokesman; Trump is being used by ISIS in social-media propaganda.

Martin O`Malley: We need to collect and share more intelligence

Martin O`Malley: Stop creating safe havens where ISIS can flourish

Martin O`Malley: Do not turn to unscrupulous leaders in times of fear

Mike Gravel: Cut US nuclear arsenal from 10,000 to a couple hundred

I propose we cut the number of our nuclear devices from the more than 10,000 we have to a couple hundred. Such a unilateral action would establish the United States’ credibility to then ask other nations, including our “enemies” who would then feel less threatened, to join our efforts in ridding the world of unneeded and dangerous nukes. This would set the stage for us to convene a global conference to write a new nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

What I propose is to jumpstart what was agreed to in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1970 and extended in 1995 by all five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the original Nuclear Club (the US, Russia, China, Great Britain, and France) -- they agreed to reduce and eventually eliminate their nuclear arsenals.

Mike Gravel: War on terror will fail like war on drugs & war on poverty

Mike Gravel: Fight terrorism with dogged global police work