Jim Gilmore presidential campaign, 2016/Foreign affairs
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 Jim Gilmore |
Governor of Virginia (1998-2002) Attorney General of Virginia (1994-1997) |
 Republican candidate: |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
Iran nuclear deal
- During the seventh Republican presidential primary debate on January 28, 2016, Jim Gilmore discussed the Iran nuclear deal: “You know, Martha, it may be out of the barn in that the Iranians may be moving towards a nuclear program, because this nuclear deal actually gives them a time frame up the road when they are going to be able to do that kind of program. And that's very dangerous because it means people in the Middle East have to begin to react to that right now. The United States, I think, has to continue to exercise its influence in the Middle East, stay active, and not do this pull-back type of program that we are seeing all over the place with President Obama, which is creating this kind of danger. The world is a more dangerous place now than when I was an intelligence agent. We have not only this international guerrilla war but also these challenges from these other countries as well.”[2]
- Along with Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, Gilmore appeared at a rally against the Iran nuclear deal on September 9, 2015. He said, “The deal does not create peace, it only postpones war. Now President Obama says we have no choice. Well if we have no choice, it’s because he’s negotiated us into a no choice position. America is never in a no choice position.”[3]
- On August 18, 2015, Gilmore mentioned in an MSNBC appearance that if it were not possible to invalidate the Iran nuclear deal, he would form a Middle East NATO to ensure "collective security within the middle east in order to provide some protection and stability under American leadership."[4]
- Gilmore spoke out against the Iran deal in a Fox News interview on July 30, 2015. When asked what he thought of the nuclear deal, he answered: "It does not do what needs to be done. I think the president has worked us now into a position where we either negotiate or we go to war. That's not healthy. As president I would try to undo this agreement." He went on to state that the United States' stance in foreign affairs lacked strength.[5]
- On April 2, 2015, Gilmore wrote a piece for the Washington Times calling for transparency and congressional oversight of any deal with Iran. Among other things, he wrote, "President Obama has agreed to a basic framework of a deal with Iran that is supposed to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. What details it may contain we don’t yet know, and the president is apparently determined to see that neither we nor Congress will. That is unacceptable to the American people because the agreement will have a significant effect on America’s national security and that of our Middle Eastern allies."[6]
Military preparedness and budget
- In a speech before the Sunshine Summit in Orlando, Fla. on November 14, 2015, Jim Gilmore said he would “take the lid off the defense budget...to restore America’s military strength.” Discussing national security and the Iran nuclear deal, Gilmore added, “Our president has failed. Weakness is provocative. And Paris is only the beginning.”[7]
- In a November 7, 2015, interview with the Washington Examiner, Gilmore, an Army veteran, said that he is the best candidate for veterans because of his experience serving the country. He said, "The fact that I have actually been in uniform, stationed overseas. I'm one of the two veterans in the race ... I have empathy and understanding of veterans that I think other candidates — there's no reason for them to have it. I have actual experience. And from a managerial standpoint, we have to get things done. We have to understand that we have to make it a priority." Gilmore also said that as president he would reform the Veterans Affairs Department and address post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide by putting qualified people in the many psychology positions in the VA that are vacant.[8]
- In July 2015, Gilmore expressed support for expanding the budget of the United States military and building up military strength. In an interview with Fox News, he stated, "we have to take the sequester off the defense budget." He continued, saying, "We have to build up the United States military. Do you know that the Navy isn't even planning to send a carrier later on this fall into the Persian Gulf because they don't think that they have enough ships and ability? The United States army is reduced by 40,000 troops. The marine corps doesn't have the combat brigades that it needs. And the political message is one of withdrawal, pulling back, decline. And potential adversaries see this and they understand it. We have to begin to reverse that to get America back on track again."[5]
- In the same July 2015 interview, Gilmore stressed that he thought the military should be built up for peace, not just war. He advocated for "peace through strength on the Reagan model."[5]
National Security
- In a June 2015 television interview, Jim Gilmore said:[9]
| “ | We have to address the national security crisis. If you really look at it, the United States is being challenged in every way by the Chinese, the Russians, the Iranians. This worldwide guerrilla war we are facing with the terrorism type of challenges. The country is not prepared to deal with these problems. We have to build up the american military establishment. We have to once again project to the world that we are not only going to lead, but we are capable of performing that leadership.[10] | ” |
- In June 2015, when asked how prepared the United States was for a domestic terrorist attack, Gilmore answered, "We are better prepared for the domestic terrorism threat, but not totally prepared. My five-year commission that Congress asked me to chair I think demonstrated what needed to be done. We warned that a conventional attack was likely."[9]
- Gilmore chaired the U.S. Congressional Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities Involving Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction from 1999-2003. A national panel established by Congress, this organization was sometimes known as the "Gilmore Commission" and existed for the purpose of assessing government capability and readiness to respond to terrorist attacks at all levels of government. The commission issued warnings in both 1999 and 2000 that America could be susceptible to terrorist attack. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, 146 out of 164 of the commission's recommendations were adopted.[11]
- During the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, Gilmore was the governor of Virginia. He issued a statement at 12 p.m. on September 11, 2001, in which he outlined the safety measures Virginia's government was taking:[12]
| “ |
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” |
ISIS and terrorism
- During a December 15, 2015, interview with PJ Media.com, Jim Gilmore said that he would not declare war on ISIS because that would legitimize their claim that they are a state, rather than a “gang of terrorists.” He said, “I do believe in declarations of war but I am not willing to say that ISIS is a state, and usually declarations of war are against a state. You don’t declare war against an international guerrilla movement. We should not give them the credit of being a state. They’re an intentional gang of terrorists terrorizing people through force of arms, creating acts of barbarity, burning people up in cages, enslaving women, cutting people’s heads off, this is not a civilized nation within the modern day.”[13]
- In his speech before the Sunshine Summit in Florida on November 14, 2015, Gilmore said he would "take the lid off the defense budget...to restore America’s military strength." Discussing national security and the Iran nuclear deal, Gilmore added, "Our president has failed. Weakness is provocative. And Paris is only the beginning."[14]
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "Jim Gilmore suspends campaign," February 12, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Transcript: Fox News undercard GOP debate," January 28, 2016
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Jim Gilmore Makes Rare Appearance at Iran Rally," September 9, 2015
- ↑ MSNBC, "Jim Gilmore: Trump ‘is wrong’ on immigration," August 18, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Fox News, "Gov. Jim Gilmore on global hot spots, tax plan, state of the race," July 30, 2015 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "fox" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Washington Times, "Reveal what’s in the deal with Iran," April 2, 2015
- ↑ Palm Beach Post, "Sunshine Summit: Gilmore says 'Paris is only the beginning'," November 14, 2015
- ↑ Washington Examiner, "Jim Gilmore, the veteran's candidate," November 7, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 WMUR9 ABC, "Conversation with the Candidate: Jim Gilmore (Part 1)," June 19, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Republican National Lawyers Association, "Member Profile, Mr. Jim Gilmore," accessed July 30, 2015
- ↑ Virginia Department of Emergency Management, "Statement by Governor Jim Gilmore, 12:00 noon, 11 September," September 11, 2001
- ↑ PJ Media, "Why Jim Gilmore Says Congress Shouldn't Declare War on ISIS," December 15, 2015
- ↑ The Palm Beach Post, "Sunshine Summit: Gilmore says 'Paris is only the beginning,'" accessed November 16, 2015
