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Tony Knowles on War & Peace2004 former Democratic Challenger for Senate (AK; previously served as Governor) |
KNOWLES: As a Vietnam veteran, I understand service and having been commander and chief of the National Guard as your governor, I saw them respond magnificently during 9-11, and countless other incidents where they--through their outstanding training and good equipment--stand ready to protect our lives and our safety. I’m proud of them. I’m proud of everything that they do, and they’re serving with honor in Iraq. But with a growing number of the top generals who already saying that this war is mismanaged, it’s misjudged, it is putting lives unnecessarily at risk. I pray for there to be a new strategy. Donald Rumsfeld’s on the line, wanting to extend one more year? I will challenge that on behalf of the Alaska National Guard. They’ve served their time. They don’t need to be extended. They should understand at the top of the Pentagon, that they need a different strategy for this war.
KNOWLES: I think the record books are fairly clear, that there’s a lot of concerns on the basis, the reasons that were given for going to war, were not justified. We’re not going to second guess and say yes I know what we should do. All I know is that we should pray for a strategy that brings our troops home at the earliest possible time.
PALIN: I think that all Americans agree that every life lost there in Iraq and Afghanistan, it profoundly touches us all. And again, as I said in my previous answer, I do support our troops, I support the mission there, that the idea of keeping the enemy outside of our borders.
MURKOWSKI: Murkowski said Americans are engaging in “a lot of Monday-morning quarterbacking” on the war. “We all agree that the world is a better place, a safer place, without Saddam Hussein in power,” she said. She described prewar Iraq as a “safe haven for terrorists,” an assertion that was not reached by the Sept. 11 Commission.
KNOWLES: Based on the information of imminent threat presented to Congress by Bush, I supported the decision to invade Iraq. Knowing today this information was false, we would be safer if we had used those forces for a full-scale assault on Al-Qaida and bin Laden, who remain an imminent threat to our security. It remains in the best interests of America and the world to continue efforts to bring peace and stability to Iraq.
MURKOWSKI: Iraq will be a successful and stable democracy and the result will place greater pressure on other Middle Eastern nations to grant individuals greater civil rights and liberties. This will only come about if the US remains committed to assisting Iraq make this transformation. If not, other groups who would like to play a greater role in their own government’s decision-making process are likely to be disillusioned and unlikely to push for reform.