PRESS RELEASES from Bachmann for President

For Immediate Release November 10, 2011

Contact: Alice Stewart

Bachmann Lays Out Foreign Policy Plans, Honors Veterans During Address on USS Yorktown

Mt. Pleasant, SC – On the eve of Veterans Day, Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann delivered an address on the USS Yorktown where she laid out her framework for protecting the country against security threats and how she would improve U.S. foreign relations, while honoring our military veterans.

The following is full text of the speech:

“I’m honored to be here on the Yorktown where so many gave so much to keep our country free. And today we also celebrate the 236th birthday of the Marine Corps.

“I’d like to take a few minutes to address what is the first charge of the federal government, the security of its citizens. President Harry Truman once said of America, ‘God has created us and brought us to our present position of power and strength for some great purpose.’ I believe that purpose is to be the greatest force for good and the greatest example of freedom the world has ever known. But that purpose demands that the U.S. lead the world--lead politically, economically, and militarily.

“Tomorrow we will honor our veterans, but we should remember them everyday for the service they gave to our country, for every American and for the cause of freedom.

“Here in South Carolina there is another group that has made a great sacrifice, our citizen soldiers in the National Guard. All across this great state your towns are dotted with National Guard Armories that remind us that in your communities are mothers, fathers, businessmen, mechanics, teachers, and nurses who also serve their country. Many have left their families to serve multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Their desires didn’t lead them to war, and the honors they sought weren’t kept hidden on battlefields. They answered the call when it came; took up arms and served for their country’s sake; and they fought because they believed America’s security was as much their responsibility as it was anyone’s.

“Today I honor the service of all of the men and women of the South Carolina National Guard and guardsmen throughout this country.

“Fortunately for America, today the men and women of the National Guard, are cut from the same patriotic mold as their predecessors who answered the call at Concord and Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, the Argonne Forrest, and the beaches of Normandy.

“The Guard’s role has always been important, but today it has become even more so. I believe the National Guard deserves to be accorded the same status as the other branches of service, granting the Chief of the National Guard Bureau the fourth star that the position merits, and be given a place on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Every single day our freedoms need defending, and I am thankful for the thousands serving in Afghanistan, those winding down operations in Iraq, and those stationed on bases around the globe. They now deserve the distinction of the best Americans, and we owe them a debt we can never fully repay.

“I stand in opposition to this administration’s assault on our national security apparatus. The White House is taking power away from our military through a never-before-seen reduction of resources during wartime.

“As a member of the House Intelligence Committee I understand the threats we face each day.

“As Commander-in-Chief, I will commit the necessary resources to the first constitutional duty of our government, protecting the nation and keeping America free, safe and sovereign. But that’s not to say that like the rest of government, the military can’t be asked to look at its budget and find ways to meet threats we have with a leaner budget.

“There are those in this race who will pander and say that they will reduce spending in every part of the budget, but the military. But I am here to tell you the truth that even our military’s budget must be examined for places where we can do more or at least the same with less.

“I have not been shy about saying the military cannot be exempt when we examine how to cut the billions out of the budget we must cut to stop spending more money than we take in.

“The Defense Department has undertaken the first steps to trim $400 billion from its budget. If targeted carefully, these cuts can be made. However, if the Pentagon is forced to live with an additional $600 billion in cuts as a result of the failure of the super committee to come to a realistic budget agreement, we will do significant damage to our military capabilities. We can make cuts, but they must be strategically planned and not randomly made on a political whim.

“We can accomplish significant reductions in spending by cutting wasteful federal spending, including unnecessary Pentagon programs and an often dysfunctional procurement system.

“One major reform in the procurement system we can make immediately is to change from cost plus contracting to fixed price contracting. American consumers don’t pay more the longer it takes to make retail products and they shouldn’t have to pay more for weapons systems based on the length of development. This policy only encourages waste and delay in the development of new technology for our military rather than protect it.

“Like the private sector, health care benefit costs for military retirees continue to rapidly increase. Just as Medicare must be reformed to decrease costs, so must the TRICARE system. These are but a few of the changes we can make to decrease the size of the defense budget.

“Make no mistake, in a Bachmann administration, we will have a strong military, but we will do so by changing the business practices of the military, employing common sense and by reforming the spending practices of the military, which coupled with aggressive reform of the military industrial complex will save us billions of dollars.

“There are those who say that our day as the free world’s leader has passed. And when we conduct our foreign policy apologetically ‘leading from behind’ we weaken our own credibility.

“Such was the case for the United States and Britain in the late 1970’s. Both countries had declined economically and militarily, and both had lost their standing as the world’s leaders. Their weakness in turn led to the adventurism of the Soviet Union and other countries like Iran. It took two strong, conservative leaders, one a woman and one a man to reverse the course of their respective countries.

“Thirty one years ago, the radical mullahs in Iran released American hostages held illegally for more than 400 days rather than face President Reagan, and the Argentine Junta's invasion of the Falkland islands in April 1982 was met by Margaret Thatcher in the firmest way and with a sure touch. Those were the first victories of Ronald Reagan’s presidency and Margaret Thatcher’s tenure as Prime Minister and we should heed the lessons it holds for dealing with those who seek to wreak havoc on peace.

“For the sake of our own security, and the defense of our values in the affairs of the world, American leadership has always been critical.

“Through decades of struggle, free nations have prevailed over tyranny because of the sacrifices of the men and women of the United States armed forces. Those we depend on as troops should know, when they become veterans, that they can depend on us. Honoring this obligation requires leadership. And I promise you that as president I will lead – from the front and not from behind – to protect this country and keep it free, safe and sovereign.

“The world of the past was a dangerous one, but more stable than the world today. It was a world where we faced a massive, organized threat to our security. Our enemy was evil, but not irrational. And for all the suffering endured by captive nations; for all the fear of global nuclear war; it was a world made fairly predictable by a stable balance of power. That world has passed.

“Today we battle an enemy that despises us so much so that they would use any means, unleash any terror, cause the most unimaginable suffering to harm us, and to destroy the world we have tried throughout our history to build.

“We must first acknowledge that the United States is at War. The liberal left would have you believe that we are not. Make no mistake the United States is at war with radical Islamic extremism. The roots of this war grew when we failed to stand by the Shah of Iran and allowed radical Islam to take control of Iran.

“And the evidence of this war has reared its ugly head in horrific instances over the last few decades. In 1979 terrorists seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 66 American diplomats hostage and held them 444 days until the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan. In 1983 simultaneous suicide truck bombs were detonated at the US Marine Headquarters in Lebanon killing 241 Marines. In 1986 an explosion at the ‘La Belle’ nightclub in Berlin, a U.S. soldiers’ hang-out, was bombed, killing 3 and injuring 230 people, including 79 U.S. soldiers.

“In 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 - Boeing 747 from London to New York, was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, by a bomb. All 259 passengers and 11 on the ground were killed, including 35 Syracuse University students and many U.S. military personnel. In 1993 the World Trade Center in New York was badly damaged by a massive bomb detonated by Islamic terrorists. In 1996 terrorists exploded a truck bomb next to a US Air Force Khobar Towers housing facility at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring 515, including 240 U.S. personnel. In 1998 simultaneous bombs in U.S. Embassies in Kenya, and Tanzania, were heavily damaged by massive attacks. In the Nairobi attack 292 people were killed, including 12 Americans, and 5,000 injured. In 2000 a suicide boat exploded next to the U.S.S. Cole blowing a hole 40 feet in diameter, killing 17 American sailors and injuring 39. And we are all aware of the events of 9/11.

“We face an enemy that is willing to fight a long war, but make no mistake, they believe we are at war, and as history bears out, we must share that belief.

“We must never forget that the plot to kill Americans on 9/11 was hatched in the mountains of Afghanistan. As president, my decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan or Iraq would be based on military considerations and not on turns helping my personal political fortunes. We must and we can win in Afghanistan and we must provide General Allen the resources he needs to win.

“And we must return to the negotiation table with Iraq so that the peace is preserved there and to seek repayment for the heavy price we paid in liberating the Iraqi people from a brutal dictator.

“The United States should always be prudent in the use of force. We must also never put troops into harm’s way unless there is a clear United States vital interest and mission. We should never half-heartedly commit our forces to a battle without an end and without knowing our enemy and our mission. And we should always use the full resources of our military to achieve victory. We should follow the advice of George Washington, who advised us in his Farewell Address, ‘The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop.’ In other words avoid foreign entanglements where possible.

“While President Obama has his attention on instructing Israel to give back land necessary to protect their existence, he has taken his eye off of the most serious threat to Middle East security, a nuclear Iran.

“As president, I’ll stand on the side of Israel and will ensure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon.

“The president was right to veto the Palestinians‘ bid for statehood in the UN Security Council. But in large part it is President’s Obama’s weakness in the Middle East that has embolden the Palestinians to attempt to achieve statehood through the UN rather than at the legitimate negotiation table with Israel. I would go a step further and withdraw our membership from UNESCO and I would withdraw U.S. funding from any UN entity that recognizes Palestine or grants them membership. I support Sen. Lindsey Graham’s legislation that would deny funding for the Palestinians and would close the PLO office in Washington, DC. The Palestinians must recognize Israel’s right to exist and renounce violence against Israel to become a serious partner in peace with Israel.

“This president ran as the anti-war candidate refusing to acknowledge that the world is a dangerous place and growing more dangerous by the day. And because he refuses to acknowledge that we are in a war against radical Islam, he listens to General Axelrod and makes political decisions with our military rather than listening to our generals in the field and making decisions about how best to win this war.

“We are fighting a war against terrorists, yet we have no jail in which to house terrorists if we catch them because we refuse to utilize our detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay. We have no ability to properly interrogate terrorists because we have removed the CIA’s role in interrogation and reduced our interrogation methods to the Army field manual that is published online for our enemy to see in advance. We shouldn’t give advance notice to our enemy what will happen to them when we catch them. It’s as if the ACLU has displaced the CIA and become the United States intelligence agency.

“President Obama has wrongly attempted to criminalize the war. President Obama, you can’t keep America safe by reading terrorists Miranda Rights, when A). they aren’t Americans and B). they have no rights. If the president hasn’t noticed, these are terrorists, bent on killing Americans--why would the president give rights to terrorists that we don’t extend even to foreign civilians?!

“I can assure you that as president we will not allow Al Qaeda in our criminal courts, and I’ll repeal this president’s executive order banning the CIA from using methods of interrogation beyond the Army Field Manual, and I’ll pursue radical Islamic terrorists as Sen. John McCain has said, to the gates of hell.

“We must understand our enemy; that they are willing to die for their cause and consider it an honor to do so. Understanding our enemy through effective intelligence is critical to victory in the war on terror.

“While we won the Iraq war, this president was determined to lose the peace with his decision to withdraw all of our troops from Iraq. The victory we fought so hard with precious American lives and treasure will be lost to the Iranians who will seek to expand their reach in Iraq.

“We learned through the tragic experience of September 11 that passive defense alone cannot protect us. We must protect our borders and enforce our immigration laws. But we must also have an aggressive strategy of confronting and rooting out the terrorists wherever they seek to operate, and deny them bases in failed or failing states. Today al Qaeda and other terrorist networks operate across the globe, seeking out opportunities in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa, and in the Middle East.

“Prevailing in this struggle will require far more than military force. It will require the use of all elements of our national power: public diplomacy; law enforcement training; and robust intelligence capabilities.

“But we face an enemy from within as well. Admiral Mike Mullen warned that the greatest enemy of our national security was not a foreign one, but rather our own debt. And Obamacare only threatens to exacerbate this problem. President Obama’s plan for socialized medicine will threaten the heart of our economy and endanger the national security of our nation as it drains valuable resources necessary for a strong national defense.

“And the debt ceiling ‘deal’ signed by the president could have even more drastic consequences for our military in the form of over a half trillion of non discriminate cuts to our military’s budget if the ‘super committee,’ one of the worst ideas ever to come from our government, fails to reach agreement. Even Defense Secretary Leon Panetta disparaged the effect on our national security, describing those indiscriminate cuts as a ‘bullet to the head’ of the Defense Department.

“Rest assured, when I am president, our Armed Forces will never again be political pawns in political deal making.

“It is a sobering thought to think that our federal government is adding about $4 billion in debt every single day. The reality is that sooner, rather than later, cuts are going to be the norm – not the exception.

“Our spending and debt is so out of control that by 2020 the interest payments on our national debt will be larger than the United States military’s budget. And even worse is that those interest payments are going to the Chinese to fund China’s military build up. This president has increased spending ten fold over his predecessor and it is directly weakening our national security as we finance China’s build up and undercut our own ability to maintain a strong national defense.

“And to have a strong national security we must have energy security, which means reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

“The next Commander-in-Chief will need tested experience, political courage and strategic clarity to make sound and difficult decisions, even when those decisions are not, as few critical decisions ever are, immediately or decidedly popular.

“We have to make far-reaching reforms to our government to prepare for the long threat our enemies plan for us, and the cruel means they will employ to harm us. You don’t just talk about or manage such changes, you lead them. I am prepared to provide that leadership.

“We were able to win the last great world war and win the cold war because we as a country understood and supported a common cause. We all knew that our enemy was outside our boundaries and not within. One lesson I learned quickly in my family was that though my brothers and I may have fought from time to time, an attack on one was an attack on all. We as Americans need that same unity today if we are to defeat the enemies we face-the enemy of debt, the enemy of radical jihad and enemies yet unknown. We need to remember that though we may disagree from time to time, we are all Americans and we are all interested in preserving American exceptionalism, which defines our way of life. We are all Americans, we are family, and I will unite the country again behind a common mission.

“We must renew our resolve to come together, just as we did in the days following 9/11 and work together to keep our country free, safe and sovereign. George Washington said in his Farewell Address that, ‘The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize.’ In other words our ability to unite together as a free people is central to solving many of the problems today with which we are confronted.

“While jobs and the economy are the most important issue in this election. We must never forget that we are at war. We can win the war against our debt that is threatening our national security. We can win the war on terrorism. But we must win this war by convincing the world that freedom is better than rule by terror. And we must do it with convincing force guided by what is best for our troops providing them with the best resources we can. Ours will be a long and difficult task; a war that will not be won easily, but we will win it. We must win it if we are to keep America free, safe and sovereign.

“God bless you and God bless America!”

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